zetetic

[ zuh-tetik ]

adjective

1. believing in or based on the theory that the earth is a flat plane and the sun, moon, and other heavenly bodies are only a few thousand feet above it:

   zetetic astronomy.

2. proceeding by inquiry or investigation:

   zetetic method.

3. of or related to an ancient Greek school of philosophy that espoused extreme skepticism.

zetetic

/ zəˈtɛtɪk /

adjective

1. proceeding by inquiry; investigating

Word History and Origins

Origin of zetetic¹

First recorded in 1650–60; from New Latin zētēticus, from Greek zētētikós “inclined to investigate or inquire,” from zētein “to seek, inquire” + -ikos -ic ( def ); zeal ( def )

Word History and Origins

Origin of zetetic¹

C17: from New Latin, from Greek zētētikos, from zēteō to seek

Example Sentences

After he expounded his views in Zetetic Astronomy, published under the pseudonym “Parallax,” a parade of his followers—including John Hampden, who debated Alfred Russel Wallace about the shape of the Earth; Lady Blount, who wrote a wish-fulfillment novel featuring flat-Earthery; and Samuel Shenton, who established the International Flat Earth Research Society—kept the flat Earth in the British public eye.

From Scientific American

The Universal Zetetic Society sputtered out but was revived under different names over the years—in 1956, 1972, and 2004.

From The New Yorker

The modern case for a flat Earth derives largely from “Zetetic Astronomy: Earth Not a Globe,” a book published, in 1865, by a smooth-talking English inventor and religious fundamentalist named Samuel Rowbotham.

From The New Yorker

In 1884, Henry Ossipoff Wolfson, a former secretary of the Zetetic Society, wrote a scathing exposé on his “old friend.”

From The New Yorker

Rowbotham’s ideas gained traction, and when he died, in 1884, his followers formed the Universal Zetetic Society.

From The New Yorker

Related Words

• cynic
• questioner
• skeptic