Synthetikos

Synthetikos is a transliteration of the Greek term συνθετικός, an adjective meaning “synthetic” or “put together.” It denotes something produced by synthesis or composed of multiple parts, as opposed to something analytical, elemental, or derived by disassembly.

Etymology: The term derives from Greek σύνθετος (synthetos) meaning “put together, compounded,” from σύν (with, together) and τίθημι (to place). In modern Greek, συνθετικός is used for “synthetic” in sciences, philosophy, and everyday language.

In linguistics and philosophy: In linguistics, the concept relates to synthetic languages, which rely on inflection and morphology to express grammatical relations, as opposed to analytic languages that use word order or separate words. In classical grammars, synthetikos described forms formed by combining elements. In philosophy, synthetic propositions are statements whose predicate adds information not contained in the subject concept; Kant distinguished them from analytic propositions, and used the idea of synthetic a priori to describe judgments that are necessarily informative but not merely definitional.

In science and industry: In chemistry and materials science, synthetic compounds, fibers, and vitamins are produced artificially through chemical synthesis rather than extracted from nature. The term also applies to synthetic dyes, plastics, and other substances manufactured by synthesis, as well as to broader discussions of artificial or man-made processes and products.

See also: Synthetic biology, Synthetic language, Analytic philosophy.