[scho.las.ti.cism] n (ca. 1782) 1 cap a: a philosophical movement dominant in western Christian civilization from the 9th until the 17th century and combining religious dogma with the mystical and intuitional tradition of patristic philosophy esp. of St. Augustine and later with Aristotelianism b: neo-scholasticism
2. a: close adherence to the traditional teachings or methods of a school or sect b: pedantic adherence to scholarly methods