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DEFINITION by
ENUMERATION
- DEFINITION BY ENUMERATION is simply the process of
listing, i.e., enumerating, the individual members of the general
class represented by the TERM.
- This method of definition cannot be applied to explaining all
terms. However, enumeration is particularly useful in defining terms
which refer to objects that have parts, and to terms which describe
a general class.
- Very often, the enumeration method of definition is used in
conjunction with classification.
- EXAMPLE:
- A barbershop quartet is a singing
group which blends four voices: bass, baritone, tenor I and
tenor II.
- EXAMPLE:
- In competitive swimming, a medley
is an event during which each contestant swims four different
strokes: the breast stroke, back-stroke, butterfly and
freestyle.
- EXAMPLE:
- In theology, the Trinity is the
union of three divine figures: the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
- NOTE:
- Enumeration is used, in the above examples, to explain
more precisely a term which is first defined by classification.
- EXAMPLE:
- The pentathlon is an athletic
contest consisting of five events: running, horseback riding,
swimming, fencing and pistol shooting.
- In this example, the enumeration is part of the
differentiating element in a formal definition.
- EXAMPLE:
- The trivium was the lower division
of the seven liberal arts in the medieval school curriculum and
consisted of grammar, logic, and rhetoric.
- NOTE:
- Sometimes a class is so large that enumerating all of its
members is either impractical or undesirable.
- In such circumstances, it is often possible for you to
enumerate enough members of the class so that the meaning of the
TERM representing it becomes clear.
- Thus, it very closely resembles that general method of
development known as EXAMPLES.
- EXAMPLE:
- A decapod is a crustacean such as a
crab, lobster or shrimp having five pairs of locomotive
appendages, each joined to a segment of the thorax.
- EXAMPLE:
- A melon is a large, juicy fruit
such as a muskmelon, cantaloupe, Persian melon, honeydew or
watermelon.
3 Types of Definition:
(links)
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By Classification (Formal Definition)
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By Synonyms
-
By Enumeration
 
      
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