Main Entry: ¹heu·ris·tic

Pronunciation: \hyu̇-ˈris-tik\

Function: adjective

Etymology: German heuristisch, from New Latin heuristicus, from Greek heuriskein to discover; akin to Old Irish fo-fúair he found

Date: 1821

: involving or serving as an aid to learning, discovery, or problem-solving by experimental and especially trial-and-error methods <heuristic techniques> <a heuristic assumption>; also : of or relating to exploratory problem-solving techniques that utilize self-educating techniques (as the evaluation of feedback) to improve performance

— heu·ris·ti·cal·ly \-ti-k(ə-)lē\ adverb