Definition of "nomothetic" [nom•o•thet•ic]

• Of or relating to lawmaking; legislative. (adjective)
• Based on a system of law. (adjective)
• Of or relating to the philosophy of law. (adjective)
• Of or relating to the study or discovery of general scientific laws. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "First, there is a critique of the "nomothetic" quest -- the idea that the social sciences should discover social laws."
• "I believe the distinction by Wilhelm Dilthey between "nomothetic" (= positing laws) and "idiographic" (= describing individuals) sciences, is still much more fruitful than other approaches that tend to blur the dividing line."
• "On the one hand, Wilson has thus strengthened the Soviet element within "post-Soviet transitions" lending support to those researchers emphasizing the continued relevance of the ideographic element in †"as opposed to nomothetic approaches to â€" the study of contemporary Russia, Ukraine, etc."