English-Thai Dictionary

theory

N ทฤษฎี  หลัก วิชา  หลักการ  law principles ideas system trud-sa-de

 

theory

N สมมติฐาน  hypothesis som-mu-ti-tan

 

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

THEORY

n.[L. theoria; Gr. to see or contemplate. ] 1. Speculation; a doctrine or scheme of things, which terminates in speculation or contemplation, without a view to practice. It is here taken in an unfavorable sense, as implying something visionary.
2. An exposition of the general principles of any science; as the theory of music.
3. The science distinguished from the art; as the theory and practice of medicine.
4. The philosophical explanation of phenomena, either physical or moral; as Lavoisier's theory of combustion; Smith's theory of moral sentiments.
Theory is distinguished from hypothesis thus; a theory is founded on inferences drawn from principles which have been established on independent evidence; a hypothesis is a proposition assumed to account for certain phenomena, and has no other evidence of its truth, than that it affords a satisfactory explanation of those phenomena.

 

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

THEORY

The "o *ry, n.; pl. Theories. Etym: [F. théorie, L. theoria, Gr. Theater. ]

 

1. A doctrine, or scheme of things, which terminates in speculation or contemplation, without a view to practice; hypothesis; speculation.

 

Note: "This word is employed by English writers in a very loose and improper sense. It is with them usually convertible into hypothesis, and hypothesis is commonly used as another term for conjecture. The terms theory and theoretical are properly used in opposition to the terms practice and practical. In this sense, they were exclusively employed by the ancients; and in this sense, they are almost exclusively employed by the Continental philosophers." Sir W. Hamilton.

 

2. An exposition of the general or abstract principles of any science; as, the theory of music.

 

3. The science, as distinguished from the art; as, the theory and practice of medicine.

 

4. 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.

 

Syn. -- Hypothesis, speculation. -- Theory, Hypothesis. A theory is a scheme of the relations subsisting between the parts of a systematic whole; an hypothesis is a tentative conjecture respecting a cause of phenomena.

 

New American Oxford Dictionary

theory

the o ry |ˈTHēərē, ˈTHi (ə )rē ˈθɪri | ▶noun ( pl. theories ) a supposition or a system of ideas intended to explain something, esp. one based on general principles independent of the thing to be explained: Darwin's theory of evolution. • a set of principles on which the practice of an activity is based: a theory of education | music theory. • an idea used to account for a situation or justify a course of action: my theory would be that the place has been seriously mismanaged. • Mathematics a collection of propositions to illustrate the principles of a subject. PHRASES in theory used in describing what is supposed to happen or be possible, usually with the implication that it does not in fact happen: in theory, things can only get better; in practice, they may well become a lot worse. ORIGIN late 16th cent. (denoting a mental scheme of something to be done ): via late Latin from Greek theōria ‘contemplation, speculation, ’ from theōros ‘spectator. ’

 

theory-laden

the o ry-lad en ▶adjective denoting a term, concept, or statement that has meaning only as part of some theory, so that its use implies the acceptance of that theory.

 

theory of games

the o ry of games ▶noun another term for game theory.

 

Oxford Dictionary

theory

the ¦ory |ˈθɪəri | ▶noun ( pl. theories ) a supposition or a system of ideas intended to explain something, especially one based on general principles independent of the thing to be explained: Darwin's theory of evolution. • a set of principles on which the practice of an activity is based: a theory of education | [ mass noun ] : music theory. • an idea used to account for a situation or justify a course of action: my theory would be that the place has been seriously mismanaged. • Mathematics a collection of propositions to illustrate the principles of a subject. PHRASES in theory used in describing what is supposed to happen or be possible, usually with the implication that it does not in fact happen: in theory, things can only get better; in practice, they may well become a lot worse. ORIGIN late 16th cent. (denoting a mental scheme of something to be done ): via late Latin from Greek theōria ‘contemplation, speculation ’, from theōros ‘spectator ’.

 

theory-laden

theory-laden ▶adjective denoting a term, concept, or statement which has meaning only as part of some theory, so that its use implies the acceptance of that theory.

 

theory of games

the ¦ory of games ▶noun another term for game theory.

 

American Oxford Thesaurus

theory

theory noun 1 I reckon that confirms my theory: hypothesis, thesis, conjecture, supposition, speculation, postulation, postulate, proposition, premise, surmise, assumption, presupposition; opinion, view, belief, contention. 2 modern economic theory: principles, ideas, concepts; philosophy, ideology, system of ideas, science. PHRASES in theory in theory, your idea sounds great, but can it be practically applied? in principle, on paper, in the abstract, all things being equal, in an ideal world; hypothetically, theoretically, supposedly.

 

Oxford Thesaurus

theory

theory noun 1 I reckon that confirms my theory: hypothesis, thesis, conjecture, supposition, speculation, postulation, postulate, proposition, premise, surmise, assumption, presumption, presupposition, notion, guess, hunch, feeling, suspicion; opinion, view, belief, thinking, thought (s ), judgement, contention. 2 the theory of quantum physics: principles, ideas, concepts; principled explanations; laws; philosophy, ideology, system of ideas, science. PHRASES in theory in theory this method is ideal —in practice it is unrealistic: in principle, on paper, in the abstract, all things being equal, in an ideal world; hypothetically; French en principe. ANTONYMS in practice, in reality.

 

Sanseido Wisdom Dictionary

theory

the o ry /θíːəri |θɪ́ə -/ (! -eo-は /iːə |ɪə /) 〖語源は 「じっくり見ること 」〗(形 )theoretical 名詞 複 -ries /-z /1 C «…に関する /…という » (事象を説明する )学説 , …論 [説 ] «about /that 節 » (!hypothesisより一般的で妥当性が高い ) ▸ Einstein's general theory of relativity アインシュタインの一般相対性理論 ▸ advance [support ] the theory that birds descended from dinosaurs 鳥類の祖先は恐竜だったという学説を提唱 [支持 ]する ▸ various theories about global warming 地球温暖化に関する諸学説 2 U (学問的な )原理 ; (一般的な )理論 , 理屈 (↔practice )▸ the theory of inflation インフレの原理 ▸ the balance between theory and practice 理論と実践とのバランス ▸ While the system might work in theory , its practical benefit is less clear .理論上, そのシステムは機能するかもしれないが, 実際の利点はあまりはっきりしない 3 C «…に関する /…という » 推測, 憶測 ; 個人的見解 «about /that 節 » ▸ I have a theory that laughter is a cure .笑うことは治療になるというのが私の持論だ 4 U 〘数 〙…論 ; 公理, 定理 .