dialecticallyadv.
/ˌdʌɪəˈlɛktᵻkli/, U.S. /ˌdaɪəˈlɛktək(ə)li/ 1.
a. By means of dialectic; by reasoned argument, logically. Now somewhat rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > logic > logical disputation or dialectics > [adverb]
dialectically1536
dialectally1840
1536 R. Taverner tr. P. Melanchthon Apol. sig. Bij, in Confessyon Fayth Germaynes They neyther expresse ryghtly & dialectically the formall cause of originall synne nor the defaults as they call them.
a1665 J. Goodwin Πλήρωμα τὸ Πνευματικόv (1670) xviii. 516 You may argue..dialectically, or with probability.
1715 R. South 12 Serm. IV. 51 He discoursed, or reasoned dialectically.
1734 T. Gordon Trial of William Whiston 19 The Person subsisting in the Essence, dialectically and logically speaking, may be said to be the Accident of the Substance.
1788 T. Taylor Diss. Platonic Doctr. Ideas in tr. Proclus Philos. & Math. Comm. I. p. lxx It is only dialectically, therefore, that we can argue from predicates as probable and known without any distinction.
1847 G. Grote Hist. Greece IV. ii. xxxvii. 519 Discussed dialectically, or by reasonings expressed in general language.
1878 T. H. Huxley in N. Amer. Rev. 127 48 The most reverend prelate might dialectically hew M. Comte in pieces.
1950 K. Burke Rhetoric of Motives ii. 140 A principle that might be stated dialectically thus [etc.].
1984 Jrnl. Relig. 64 374 Patiently detailed, dialectically argued, understatedly yet forcefully clarified.
b. In Hegelian or Marxist thought: in a dialectical (dialectical adj. 2b) manner.
ΚΠ
1835 Christian Examiner & Gen. Rev. Sept. 49 We see..the dialectically formed Christianity of Göschel, who attempted to construct the Church system according to the formulæ of Hegel.
1869 W. T. Harris in tr. G. W. F. Hegel First Princ. Introd. 7 In the Logic, this is again the ideal totality, which the inadequate categories are unable to express; in their attempt to do this they demand the aid of their opposites, and thus struggle dialectically toward the concrete self-definition of the Idea.
1944 F. Hertz Nationality in Hist. & Politics viii. 345 Hegel built up a grandiose and fascinating architecture of concepts, which dialectically combined enlightenment and romanticism.
1982 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 12 Feb. c1/5 One is aware in his [sc. the sculptor's] work of a continuing effort to confer a certain harmony on elements that remain dialectically opposed.
2005 S. Walsh Living Christianly iv. 113 Suffering is also a qualification of Christian existence in its own right that stands dialectically related to joy and consolation.
2. = dialectally adv. 2.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > a language > dialect > [adverb]
rustically1611
dialectically1766
dialectally1865
1766 J. Cleland Way to Things by Words 65 Here one might be tempted to attribute the word Goths to a contraction of Good, so as to be nothing more than dialectically different from Gods.
1866 G. Stephens Old-Northern Runic Monuments I. i. 86 A rune may dialectically..vary in power, according to locality.
1884 R. S. Poole in Encycl. Brit. XVII. 641/1 Two coins, differing dialectically in their inscriptions, were found in the Tigris.
1940 J. A. Mason in Maya & their Neighbors v. 61 According to Sapir..Subtiaba in Nicaragua differs hardly more than dialectically from Tlapanec in Guerrero.
1997 Amer. Speech 72 122 French in Louisiana has been dialectically diverse and the population of its speakers has always been multiethnic and polychromatic.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2014; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adv.1536