Glossary:Existential Quantifier
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Existential Quantifier
BE /ˌɛgzɪˈstɛnʃəl ˈkwɒntɪfaɪə/, AE /ˌɛgˌzɪˈstɛnʧəl ˈkwɑntɪˌfaɪər/
Definition
The existential quantifier (symbolized by the operator ∃) is used to mean that the statement is true of at least one entity in the domain and stands for expressions with a/an (one), some and there is.
Examples
A dog barked.
∃x (DOG (x) & BARK (x))
“There is at least one thing x such that x is a dog and x barked.”
Some birds were singing.
∃x (BIRD (x) & SING (x))
“There is at least one thing x such that x is a bird and x sings.”
References
- Gregory, Howard. 2000. Semantics. Language Workbook. London/New York: Rutledge.
- Riemer, Nick. 2010. Introducing Semantics. Cambridge [et al.]: Cambridge University Press.
Related Terms
- Logical Form
- Logical Quantifier
- Logical Symbol
- Predicate Logic (First-order Predicate Logic)
- Quantifier
- Restricted Quantifier
- Universal Quantifier
- Variable
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