SYNTHETIC; SYNTHETICAL a.
sis or composition; as, the synthetic method of reasoning, as opposed to analytical. Philosophers hasten too much from the analytic to the synthetic method; that is, they draw general conclusions from too small a number of particular observations and experiments. Bolingbroke.
TANTALUS n.
A genus of wading birds comprising the wood ibises. Tantalus's cup (Physics), a philosophical toy, consisting of a cup, within which is the figure of a man, and within the figure a siphon, the longer arm of which passes down through the bottom of the cup, and allows the escape of any liquid that may be poured in, when…
THEORY n.
The philosophical explanation of phenomena, either physical or moral; as, Lavoisier's theory of combustion; Adam Smith's theory of moral sentiments. Atomic theory, Binary theory, etc. See under Atomic, Binary, etc.
TORRICELLIAN a.
Of or pertaining to Torricelli, an Italian philosopher and mathematician, who, in 1643, discovered that the rise of a liquid in a tube, as in the barometer, is due to atmospheric pressure. See Barometer. Torricellian tube, a glass tube thirty or more inches in length, open at the lower end and hermetically sealed at th…