What does the idiom "beg the question" mean?

The phrase beg the question is often used in English, but what does this idiom mean? When idioms are used in the right situations, they strengthen communication and enrich the language. You can communicate more effectively by learning the meaning of beg the question.

Meaning of "beg the question"

Meaning

The phrase "beg the question" is an idiomatic expression used to describe a logical fallacy in which an argument is assumed to be true without the need for proof or evidence. It is also used to indicate that one statement or premise is so closely related to another that it can be inferred from it, or that one statement or premise can be used to prove another. In less formal settings, the phrase is often used to describe a situation in which a speaker attempts to answer a question by restating it in a slightly different form.

Etymology

The origin of the phrase “beg the question” can be traced back to the Latin phrase petitio principii. It literally means “requesting the first point,” and refers to the logical fallacy of making an assumption that the conclusion has already been proven. The phrase was first used in English during the 15th century to refer to an argument that begins by assuming the conclusion, and was widely used in philosophical texts during the 17th and 18th centuries.

Usage

Today, the idiom “beg the question” is often used in casual conversations to describe a situation in which a speaker attempts to answer their own question by simply restating it in a slightly different form. For example, if someone asks “What exactly do you mean?” and the responder replies, “What do you mean by ‘exactly’?” the responder is “begging the question” by attempting to answer their own inquiry without actually providing an answer.

Example Sentences

  • She was asking why she was wrong, but her question was just begging the question.
  • His argument was begging the question since he was assuming his outcome was already true.
  • When he asked what I meant by “expensive,” he was just begging the question.

The meanings of the words in the "beg the question" idiom

The Global Spread of English Idioms

As English has become a global language, its idioms have spread far beyond the borders of the UK and USA. For instance, the idiom "beat around the bush" has equivalents in many other languages, such as "tourner autour du pot" in French and "dar vueltas al asunto" in Spanish. Meanwhile, other idioms have been adapted for local contexts, such as the Russian idiom "?? ???? ???????" (ne svoya rubashka), which translates to "not one's own shirt," meaning to be in an uncomfortable or unfamiliar situation.

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