'Paradox' is Greek for 'against what is commonly thought' — opinion challenged by its own logic.
A statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but may in fact be true; a situation or person exhibiting apparently contradictory qualities.
From Latin 'paradoxum,' from Greek 'paradoxon' (contrary to expectation, incredible), a neuter substantive of 'paradoxos' (contrary to received opinion), from 'para-' (contrary to, against, beside) and 'doxa' (opinion, expectation), from 'dokein' (to think, to seem, to expect). A paradox is, literally, something that runs counter to what people think or expect. The word entered English
The root 'doxa' (opinion) connects 'paradox' (against opinion) to 'orthodox' (right opinion), 'heterodox' (other opinion), and 'doxology' (words of glory/praise). In the ancient Greek world, what was 'paradoxical' was not necessarily absurd — it was simply what went against the prevailing view. Socrates was considered paradoxical because he challenged conventional wisdom.
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