induction (n.) Look up induction at

As a term in logic (early 15c.) it is from Cicero's use of inductio to translate Greek epagoge "leading to" in Aristotle. Induction starts with known instances and arrives at generalizations; deduction starts from the general principle and arrives at some individual fact. As a term of science, c. 1800; military service sense is from 1934, American English.