Grelling-Nelson paradox

proper noun

A semantic paradox of self-reference, where, supposing that "autological" means "self-describing" and "heterological" means "not self-describing", then "heterological" itself cannot be meaningfully classified as either of the two.

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Meanings

proper nounthe Grelling-Nelson paradox
  1. A semantic paradox of self-reference, where, supposing that "autological" means "self-describing" and "heterological" means "not self-describing", then "heterological" itself cannot be meaningfully classified as either of the two.

Origin

Formulated in 1908 by Kurt Grelling and Leonard Nelson.

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Cite this entry
APA

Grelling-Nelson paradox. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Grelling-Nelson%20paradox

MLA

“Grelling-Nelson paradox.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Grelling-Nelson%20paradox. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Grelling-Nelson paradox,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Grelling-Nelson%20paradox.

Source: Grelling-Nelson paradox on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.