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non sequitur

UK/ˌnɒn ˈsɛk.wɪ.tə/US/ˌnɑn ˈsɛk.wɪ.tɚ/
nounC2Not compared — the two pools are counted one word at a time, so a phrase has no score

A non sequitur is a conclusion that simply does not follow. That is a non sequitur, a complete non sequitur, answered with a non sequitur.

In logic it names a fault in an argument and in conversation a reply that came from nowhere, and the two uses are only loosely related. The Latin means it does not follow.

Definitions of non sequitur

  1. 1nounnon sequiturA conclusion that simply does not follow.C2

    “His answer was a complete non sequitur: I asked about the budget, and he talked about his holiday.”

non sequitur is a fallacy.

Where it comes from

Latin non sequitur means it does not follow.

  1. Proto-Indo-European

    *sekʷ-

  2. Latin

    nōn sequitur

  3. English, today

    non sequitur

Learned borrowing from Latin nōn sequitur. Latin nōn sequitur literally “it does not follow”.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Logic & Argument

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