the interpretation of a text, esp a biblical text, using one's own ideas
Compare exegesis
Word origin
C19: from Greek eis into, in + -egesis, as in exegesis
eisegesis in American English
(ˌaisɪˈdʒisɪs)
nounWord forms: plural-ses (-siz)
an interpretation, esp. of Scripture, that expresses the interpreter's own ideas, bias, or the like, rather than the meaning of the text
Derived forms
eisegetic (ˌaisɪˈdʒetɪk)eisegetical
adjective
Word origin
[1890–95; ‹ Gk eise᷄gesis, equiv. to eis- into + (h)ēge- (s. of hēgeîsthai to lead) + -sis-sis]This word is first recorded in the period 1890–95. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: honky-tonk, masochism, phoneme, pogey, takedown-sis is a suffix appearing in loanwords from Greek, where it was used to form from verbsabstract nouns of action, process, state, condition, etc. Other words that use theaffix -sis include: analysis, anamorphosis, dieresis, ellipsis, prolepsis