Tell me more ×
English Language & Usage Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for linguists, etymologists, and serious English language enthusiasts. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 8 down vote favorite
1

I am looking for a noun to describe something that is self-evident. I don't think I can say 'this is a self-evidency', but searching online and on this forum, I haven't found a proper alternative yet.

share|improve this question
3  
Perhaps it would help to provide a context, an example of how you want to use this noun. – oKtosiTe Feb 3 '12 at 10:20
The context in which I want to use it is this: 'The fact that all literature deals with it in such and such a way is a [self-evidency] – Marieke Feb 3 '12 at 10:39
4  
Out of curiosity, why use the noun there? Dropping the indefinite article and just using self-evident seems perfectly natural. – Dusty Feb 3 '12 at 13:04

7 Answers

up vote 13 down vote

Given, as in "The fact that .... is a given".

share|improve this answer
1  
+1 This is a good choice. – MετάEd Feb 3 '12 at 15:20
up vote 6 down vote

I think given is the closest to what you described, but presupposition and tautology come to mind.

share|improve this answer
+1 for alternatives – MετάEd Feb 3 '12 at 15:21
up vote 3 down vote

Obvious can itself be a noun. You can speak of ‘stating the obvious’, for example. But it’s not a countable noun, so you can’t precede it with the indefinite article.

share|improve this answer
Would patent qualify? I wish it did, but as a noun, it has only a special meaning in law. – Kris Feb 3 '12 at 10:25
@Kris: You're right. I've just checked. – Barrie England Feb 3 '12 at 10:32
1  
Yeah, I want to precede it with an indefinite article, that's the problem... – Marieke Feb 3 '12 at 10:41
@Marieke: Then I think you'll be unlucky. The concept is by its nature non-countable. – Barrie England Feb 3 '12 at 11:10
It's the obvious answer. – Marcus Adams Feb 3 '12 at 22:00
up vote 3 down vote

According to Wiktionary, self-evidency is such a noun.

share|improve this answer
Thanks :) I hadn't thought of that yet... – Marieke Feb 3 '12 at 11:17
1  
Alas, Wiktionary says (and my ear agrees) that "self-evidency" is always uncountable and describes a quality, not an item. That is, you can speak of "the self-evidency of" something, but speaking of something as "a self-evidency" would be an unusual usage at best. – Ilmari Karonen Feb 3 '12 at 12:45
I do not doubt that it is a valid construction, but it seems awkward to my American ears. – MετάEd Feb 3 '12 at 15:24
up vote 2 down vote

In the example sentence you gave, if I absolutely had to use a noun, I'd probably go for a noun phrase like "self-evident fact", and preferably change the beginning to avoid the repetition of "fact":

"That all literature deals with it in such and such a way is a self-evident fact."

But really, why can't you just say:

"The fact that all literature deals with it in such and such a way is self-evident."

(I was originally going to suggest "triviality", but it doesn't really fit the context you specified. It would work in something like "We need not concern ourselves with such trivialities.")

share|improve this answer
up vote 2 down vote

The word truism expresses the idea you are looking for, and can be used with an indefinite article.

The fact that all literature deals with it in such and such a way is a truism.

share|improve this answer
I don't think this is quite the same. I thought of "tautology", too, and rejected it for the same reason. In each case, the meaning is "this is self-evident", whereas in the example, the desired meaning is "the large body of easily-available evidence makes this obvious". – Ed Staub Feb 3 '12 at 15:45
Should the question be edited, then? A truism (dictionary.reference.com/browse/truism) is "a self-evident, obvious truth." That is, more than any other proposed word, an exact answer to the question, which asks for a synonym to "self-evidency" or a word that means "something that is self-evident." – corvec Feb 3 '12 at 17:37
See also wcdebate.com/1parli/29truism.htm which explains in detail the difference between a truism and a tautology. – corvec Feb 3 '12 at 17:42
up vote 1 down vote

It would be better to know the context but still you can check axiomatic and axiom

Edit 1: Possible to say

The fact that all literature deals with it in such and such a way is the proof itself.

You could also use "obvious proof", "valid proof" e.t.c

share|improve this answer
1  
The context in which I want to use it is this: 'The fact that all literature deals with it in such and such a way is a [self-evidency] – Marieke Feb 3 '12 at 10:42
@Marieke, see my edit please. (I, by mistake, edited your question) – Mustafa Feb 3 '12 at 11:21
By mistake, I edited question instead of my answer, could moderators delete the edited part in OP's question? – Mustafa Feb 3 '12 at 11:23
+1 This would fit with the indefinite article: "… is an axiom". – MετάEd Feb 3 '12 at 15:23

protected by RegDwighт♦ Feb 3 '12 at 15:32

This question is protected to prevent "thanks!", "me too!", or spam answers by new users. To answer it, you must have earned at least 10 reputation on this site.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.