[heu.ris.tic] adj [G heuristisch, fr. NL heuristicus, fr. Gk heuriskein to discover; akin to OIr fo-fuair he found] (1821): involving or serving as an aid to learning, discovery, or problem-solving by experimental and esp. trial-and-error methods "~ techniques" "a ~ assumption"; also: of or relating to exploratory problem-solving techniques that utilize self-educating techniques (as the evaluation of feedback) to improve performance "a ~ computer program" -- heu.ris.ti.cal.ly adv
[2]heuristic n (1860) 1: the study or practice of heuristic procedure
2: heuristic argument
3: a heuristic method or procedure