Socratic Definition: Real or Nominal?

In Plato’s early dialogues, Socrates frequently asks questions of the form “What is X?” seeking definitions of the substitution instances of X. In attempting to elucidate Socratic definition, a number of interpreters have invoked a distinction between real and nominal definition, he was not seeking a nominal definition, but rather a real definition. My purpose in this paper is to argue that the preceding interpretation of Socratic thought is mistaken, i.e., I shall argue that there is no real/nominal distinction to be found in the Socratic dialogues.