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In my view, the Christian religion is the most important and one of the first things in which all children, under a free government ought to be instructed... No truth is more evident to my mind than that the Christian religion must be the basis of any government intended to secure the rights and privileges of a free people.
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1828 Noah Webster Dictionary
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1828.mshaffer.com › Word [equivocal]

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equivocal

EQUIV'OCAL, a. [Low L. oequivocus; oequus, equal, and vox, a word. See Vocal.]

1. Being of doubtful signification; that may be understood in different senses; capable of a double interpretation; ambiguous; as equivocal words, terms or senses. Men may be misled in their opinions by the use of equivocal terms.

2. Doubtful; ambiguous; susceptible of different constructions; not decided. The character of the man is somewhat equivocal. His conduct is equivocal.

3. Uncertain; proceeding from some unknown cause, or not from the usual cause. Equivocal generation is the production of animals without the intercourse of the sexes, and of plants without seed. This doctrine is now exploded.

EQUIV'OCAL, n. A word or term of doubtful meaning, or capable of different meanings.



Evolution (or devolution) of this word [equivocal]

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EQUIV'OCAL, a. [Low L. oequivocus; oequus, equal, and vox, a word. See Vocal.]

1. Being of doubtful signification; that may be understood in different senses; capable of a double interpretation; ambiguous; as equivocal words, terms or senses. Men may be misled in their opinions by the use of equivocal terms.

2. Doubtful; ambiguous; susceptible of different constructions; not decided. The character of the man is somewhat equivocal. His conduct is equivocal.

3. Uncertain; proceeding from some unknown cause, or not from the usual cause. Equivocal generation is the production of animals without the intercourse of the sexes, and of plants without seed. This doctrine is now exploded.

EQUIV'OCAL, n. A word or term of doubtful meaning, or capable of different meanings.


E-QUIV'O-CAL, a. [Low L. æquivocus; æquus, equal, and vox, a word; Fr. equivoque; It. equivocale. See Vocal.]

  1. Being of doubtful signification; that may be understood in different senses; capable of a double interpretation; ambiguous; as, equivocal words, terms or senses. Men may be misled in their opinions by the use of equivocal terms.
  2. Doubtful; ambiguous; susceptible of different constructions; not decided. The character of the man is somewhat equivocal. His conduct is equivocal.
  3. Uncertain; proceeding from some unknown cause, or not from the usual cause. Equivocal generation is the production of animals without the intercourse of the sexes, and of plants without seed. This doctrine is now exploded.

E-QUIV'O-CAL, n.

A word or term of doubtful meaning, or capable of different meanings. Dennis.


E*quiv"o*cal
  1. (Literally, called equally one thing or the other; hence:) Having two significations equally applicable; capable of double interpretation; of doubtful meaning; ambiguous; uncertain; as, equivocal words; an equivocal sentence.

    For the beauties of Shakespeare are not of so dim or equivocal a nature as to be visible only to learned eyes. Jeffrey.

  2. A word or expression capable of different meanings; an ambiguous term; an equivoque.

    In languages of great ductility, equivocals like that just referred to are rarely found. Fitzed. Hall.

  3. Capable of being ascribed to different motives, or of signifying opposite feelings, purposes, or characters; deserving to be suspected; as, his actions are equivocal.

    "Equivocal repentances." Milton.
  4. Uncertain, as an indication or sign; doubtful.

    "How equivocal a test." Burke.

    Equivocal chord (Mus.), a chord which can be resolved into several distinct keys; one whose intervals, being all minor thirds, do not clearly indicate its fundamental tone or root; the chord of the diminished triad, and the diminished seventh.

    Syn. -- Ambiguous; doubtful; uncertain; indeterminate. -- Equivocal, Ambiguous. We call an expression ambiguous when it has one general meaning, and yet contains certain words which may be taken in two different senses; or certain clauses which can be so connected with other clauses as to divide the mind between different views of part of the meaning intended. We call an expression equivocal when, taken as a whole, it conveys a given thought with perfect clearness and propriety, and also another thought with equal propriety and clearness. Such were the responses often given by the Delphic oracle; as that to Cr(?)sus when consulting about a war with Persia: "If you cross the Halys, you will destroy a great empire." This he applied to the Persian empire, which lay beyond that river, and, having crossed, destroyed his own, empire in the conflict. What is ambiguous is a mere blunder of language; what is equivocal is usually intended to deceive, though it may occur at times from mere inadvertence. Equivocation is applied only to cases where there is a design to deceive.

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Equivocal

EQUIV'OCAL, adjective [Low Latin oequivocus; oequus, equal, and vox, a word. See Vocal.]

1. Being of doubtful signification; that may be understood in different senses; capable of a double interpretation; ambiguous; as equivocal words, terms or senses. Men may be misled in their opinions by the use of equivocal terms.

2. Doubtful; ambiguous; susceptible of different constructions; not decided. The character of the man is somewhat equivocal His conduct is equivocal

3. Uncertain; proceeding from some unknown cause, or not from the usual cause. equivocal generation is the production of animals without the intercourse of the sexes, and of plants without seed. This doctrine is now exploded.

EQUIV'OCAL, noun A word or term of doubtful meaning, or capable of different meanings.

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Because Noah Webster used the Bible as the basis for understanding the meaning of words. I use this to help in the preparation of Bible study notes

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Word of the Day

importance

IMPORT'ANCE, n.

1. Weight; consequence; a bearing on some interest; that quality of any thing by which it may affect a measure, interest or result. The education of youth is of great importance to a free government. A religious education is of infinite importance to every human being.

2. Weight or consequence in the scale of being.

Thy own importance know.

Nor bound thy narrow views to things below.

3. Weight or consequence in self-estimation.

He believes himself a man of importance.

4. Thing implied; matter; subject; importunity. [In these senses, obsolete.]

Random Word

jurist

JU'RIST, n. [L. jus, juris, law.]

1. A man who professes the science of law; one versed in the law, or more particularly, in the civil law; a civilian.

2. One versed in the law of nations, or who writes on the subject.

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