Today's Word

Yesterday's Word

Archives

FAQ

A.Word.A.Day--ceteris paribus

ceteris paribus (KAY-tuhr-uhs PAR-uh-buhs, SET-uhr-is) adverb

Other factors remaining the same.

[From Latin, literally, other things the same.]

This is a favorite term of economists. It's used to indicate the effect of change in a variable, assuming other variables are held constant in a system.

See more usage examples of ceteris paribus in Vocabulary.com's dictionary.

"Ceteris paribus, I stand by my avoid recommendation." William Lewis; Forget the Big Spend; Sunday Times (London, UK); Apr 11, 2004.

"But since, ceteris paribus, no poet can afford to dispense with anything that may advance his design, it but remains to be seen whether there is, in extent, any advantage to counterbalance the loss of unity which attends it." Edgar Allan Poe; The Philosophy of Composition; 1850.

This week's theme: Latin expressions.

X-Bonus