n.
Pronunciation: im- ' pir- ə - ˌ si-z ə m, em-
Function: noun
Date: 1657
1 a : a former school of medical practice founded on experience without the aid of science or theory b : QUACKERY , CHARLATANRY
2 a : the practice of relying on observation and experiment especially in the natural sciences b : a tenet arrived at empirically
3 : a theory that all knowledge originates in experience
– em · pir · i · cist \ -sist \ noun