telish

English

Etymology

Coined by John Rawls in his 1955 paper “Two Concepts of Rules”. Probably a portmanteau of the Ancient Greek τέλος (télos, “result”, “end”, loosely “the greater good”) and the English (pun)ish, after telishment.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtɛlɪʃ/

Verb

telish (third-person singular simple present telishes, present participle telishing, simple past and past participle telished)

1. (consequentialism) Punish (an innocent person) for the sake of deterrence; subject (a person) to telishment.
   • 1955, John Rawls, “Two Concepts of Rules”, in The Philosophical Review, LXIV, № 1, page 12:

     How is one to limit the risks involved in allowing such systematic deception? How is one to avoid giving anything short of complete discretion to the authorities to telish anyone they like?

Anagrams

• Stiehl, Thiels, histel, lithes, tehsil