equivocation

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Middle English equivocacion; from Old French equivocation; from Medieval Latin aequivocātiō; from aequivocō, from Late Latin aequivocus (“ambiguous, equivocal”); from Latin aequus (“equal”) + vocō (“call”), a calque of Ancient Greek ὁμωνυμία (homōnumía).[1] First attested in c. 1380.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɪˌkwɪvəˈkeɪʃən/, /ɪˌkwɪvəˈkeɪʃn̩/, /əˌkwɪvəˈkeɪʃn/
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Hyphenation: e‧quiv‧o‧ca‧tion
  • Rhymes: -eɪʃən

Noun

equivocation (countable and uncountable, plural equivocations)

  1. (logic) A logical fallacy resulting from the use of multiple meanings of a single expression.
  2. The use of expressions susceptible of a double signification, possibly intentionally and with the aim of misleading.
    • 2025 April 18, Henry Gass, “Amid deportation dispute, Trump and courts square off on who has last word”, in The Christian Science Monitor‎[1], Boston, Massachusetts: Christian Science Publishing Society, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 27 December 2025:
      Federal courts have mostly ruled against the executive branch in such cases. The equivocation that has characterized the [Trump] administration’s legal responses to date is turning into objection and refusal.

Translations

References

  1. ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2026), “equivocation”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

Further reading

Old French

Noun

equivocation oblique singular, f (oblique plural equivocations, nominative singular equivocation, nominative plural equivocations)

  1. equivocation
    Si avoit trovee occasion de li gaber par l'equivocation de son nom
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