Sense file
How the sense moved
The archive follows the dated record first, then reads the social or rhetorical pressure that hardened, softened, narrowed, or reversed the word.
Older meaning
A settled opinion, philosophical tenet, or accepted principle.
Modern meaning
Rigid doctrine or belief treated as beyond question.
Research lens
A settled-opinion term that modern speakers often use less to describe content than to disqualify an opponent's mental posture.
Meaning trail
Root
what seems true
The Greek base ties the word to accepted opinion.
Older sense
tenet or established principle
The early term could be philosophical before it became accusatory.
Now
rigid doctrine
Modern speech often loads it with intellectual closure.