Etymology

ignotum per ignotius

Today it means: An attempt to explain something obscure in terms of something else which is even more obscure. Full definition →

Latin ignōtum per ignōtius
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The story

  1. Latin · derived fromignōtum per ignōtius
  2. English todayignotum per ignotius

From Latin ignōtum per ignōtius, “[to explain] the unknown by the more unknown”.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.