Etymology

heuristic

heu·ris·tic
H4E1U1R1I1S1T1I1C3

Today it means: That employs a practical method not guaranteed to be optimal or perfect; either not following or derived from any theory, or based on an advisedly oversimplified one. Full definition →

First used 1821Ancient Greek εὑρίσκω
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The story

  1. Ancient Greek · derived fromεὑρίσκω“I find, discover”
  2. English todayheuristic

Irregular formation from Ancient Greek εὑρίσκω (heurískō, “I find, discover”) (compare the proper Greek term εὑρετικός (heuretikós)).

Words from the same roots

Ancient Greekεὑρίσκω all →

heuristicsheutagogy

First known use, by meaning

  • from 1821 That employs a practical method not guaranteed to be optimal or perfect; either not following or derived from any theory, or based on an advisedly oversimplified one.
  • from 1860 A heuristic method.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.