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topic definition

topic (täpik)

noun

  1. Historical
    1. a class or category of considerations or arguments on which a rhetorician may draw
    2. one such consideration or argument
  2. the subject of a paragraph, essay, speech, etc.
  3. a subject for discussion or conversation
  4. a heading or item in an outline

Etymology: L topica < Gr ta topika, title of a work by Aristotle < topikos, local, concerning < topoi, commonplaces < topos, place < IE base *top-, to arrive, goal > OE thafian, to endure

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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