equivocation

Etymology

c. 1380, from Middle English equivocacion, from Old French equivocation, from Medieval Latin aequivocātiō, from aequivocō, from Late Latin aequivocus (“ambiguous, equivocal”), from Latin aequus (“equal”) + vocō (“call”); a calque of Ancient Greek ὁμωνυμία (homōnumía).

noun

  1. (logic) A logical fallacy resulting from the use of multiple meanings of a single expression.
  2. The use of expressions susceptible of a double signification, possibly intentionally and with the aim of misleading.

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