What does "q-principle" mean?

In the neo-Gricean semantics and pragmatics of Laurence R. Horn: a reformulation of Paul Grice's maxim of quantity combined with the first two submaxims of manner, stating: "Say as much as you can (given R)", and leading to the implicature that if the speaker did not make a stronger statement (or say more), then its denial is (implied to be) true.

Q-principle

name

name ·Rare ·Advanced level

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Proper Noun

1
In the neo-Gricean semantics and pragmatics of Laurence R. Horn: a reformulation of Paul Grice's maxim of quantity combined with the first two submaxims of manner, stating: "Say as much as you can (given R)", and leading to the implicature that if the speaker did not make a stronger statement (or say more), then its denial is (implied to be) true.

Etymology

Q stands for quantity.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.