Etymology

argumentum ad baculum

Today it means: The use or threat of force to coerce acceptance of an argument. Full definition →

Latin argūmentum ad baculum
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The story

  1. Latin · borrowed fromargūmentum ad baculum
  2. English todayargumentum ad baculum

Unadapted borrowing from Latin argūmentum ad baculum (literally “argument to the cudgel”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.