# argument

Pronunciation: US say "AHR-gyuu-muhnt" /ˈɑɹɡjʊmənt/; UK say "AH-gyuu-muhnt" /ˈɑːɡjʊmənt/

## Noun

1. A fact or statement put forward to support a proposition; a reason for thinking something is true.
   - Simple: A reason or fact you give to show that something is true.
   - _The strongest argument for the plan is that it would cost the town nothing._
   - _Each argument in the essay was backed by evidence._
2. A verbal dispute between two or more people, especially a heated one; a quarrel.
   - Simple: A spoken fight in which people disagree, often loudly.
   - _Their argument over the inheritance split the family._
   - _A bitter argument broke out at the dinner table._
3. A series of propositions arranged so that the final one, the conclusion, is meant to follow logically from the earlier ones, which serve as premises.
   - Simple: A set of reasons arranged to show that a final point follows from the ones before it.
   - _The philosopher's argument moved from three premises to a single conclusion._
   - _A valid argument guarantees the conclusion whenever the premises are true._
4. The process of reasoning through something by giving and weighing reasons; argumentation.
   - Simple: The act of giving reasons to explain or prove something.
   - _The question cannot be settled by argument alone; at some point we need real data._
   - _Through careful argument, the speaker brought the audience to his view._
5. In programming, a value, or a reference to a value, passed to a function, procedure, or command when it is called.
   - Simple: in computer programs, a value that you give to a function or command when you use it
   - _The function accepts a single argument and returns its square._
   - _Passing the wrong type of argument caused the program to crash._
6. In mathematics, the independent variable of a function: the input quantity on which the function's value depends.
   - Simple: in math, the number you put into a function to get its result
   - _The sine function takes an angle as its argument._
   - _For each value of the argument, the function returns exactly one output._
7. A clash, altercation, or even a physical collision, treated humorously as a dispute. *(humorous)*
   - Simple: Any clash or bump, said in a joking way as if it were a fight.
   - _His car had an argument with the garage door and came off worse._
   - _The boat clearly lost its argument with the rocks._
8. A summary of the content of a book, poem, or chapter, placed before the work itself; figuratively, the contents themselves.
   - Simple: A short summary placed at the start of a book or chapter to tell you what it covers.
   - _Milton placed a brief argument before each book of his epic._
   - _The poem's argument outlines the journey the hero will take._
9. A phrase that helps complete the meaning of a verb, such as its subject or object, as opposed to an optional modifier.
   - Simple: A word or phrase that fills one of a verb's main roles, such as its subject or object.
   - _The verb 'give' takes three arguments: a giver, a thing given, and a recipient._
   - _In 'she sleeps,' the pronoun 'she' is the single argument of the verb._

## Noun

10. The subject matter of a piece of writing, art, or speech; its theme or topic. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: The subject or topic that a piece of writing, art, or speech is about.
11. A matter under discussion; the business currently in hand. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: The matter being dealt with or talked about at the moment.
12. Evidence or proof of something; a single item of such evidence or proof. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: Proof or a piece of evidence that something is true.

## Verb

13. To argue; to put forward reasons or evidence in support of a point. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: an old use meaning to argue or to give reasons and proof for something

## Other meanings

- (noun) The angle a complex number makes with the positive real axis when plotted; its phase.

## Origin

**Meanings 1–12** — Latin argumentum passed through Anglo-Norman and Old French arguement into Middle English as argument, though the English word can just as well be read as argue + -ment. It pushed out the native Old English terms racu and ġeflit.
**Meaning 13** — The obsolete senses come from Middle English argumenten ('to argue, discuss, reflect'), from Old French argumenter, from Latin argūmentārī ('to bring forward arguments or proof, reason'), formed from argūmentum; the present-day nonstandard use derives from the noun.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/argument (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).