▪ I. ‖ ergo, adv. Logic.
(ˈɜːgəʊ)
[L. ergo therefore.]
A word used (like Eng. ‘therefore’) to mark the conclusion of a syllogism.
| ? a 1400 Chester Pl. (Shaks. Soc.) II. 45 Ergo, a kinge thou arte or was. 1503 Hawes Examp. Virt. v. 52 Ergo my labour was not in vayn. 1562 Cooper Answ. Priv. Masse (1850) 108 Ergo it ought to remain indifferent. 1625 W. Pemble Justification (1629) 131 To rebell against the Law is sinne. Ergo, To haue a rebellious inclination is sinne likewise. 1780 Cowper Lett. 23 June, Ergo (I have reached the conclusion at last) I did not mean to flatter you. 1846 Greener Sc. Gunnery 343 ‘Ergo’ says one, if a 56lb. ball can be thrown 31/4 miles, certain a 68lb. ball can be thrown further, for ‘weight is power’. |
▪ II. † ˈergo, n. Obs.
1. The adverb ergo used as a name for itself; hence, a conclusion, a conclusive authorization.
| 1589 R. Harvey Pl. Perc. 20 Such a quoile about pro and con, such vrging of Ergoes. a 1613 Overbury A Wife (1638) 125 The currant of his speech is clos'd with an Ergo. 1654 R. Whitlock Zootomia 259 We come not to the Ergo of our knowledge untill we come to the conclusion of our daies. 1655 Fuller Ch. Hist. ix. vi. §25 No conclusive argument could then be framed without the Ergo of the Royall assent. 1867 J. R. Lowell Fitz Adam's Story in Poems (1912) 569 His fancy's thrall, he drew all ergos thence, And thought himself the type of common sense. |
2. nonce-use. A ‘logic-chopper’.
| 1597 1st Ret. Parnass. iii. i. 979, I reward the poor ergoes most bountifullie, and send them away. |
▪ III. † ˈergo, v. Obs.
[f. ergo adv.; cf. ergot v.]
intr. To use the term ergo. In quot. quasi-trans.
| 1589 Pappe w. Hatchet (1844) 14 He will ergo Martin into an ague. |