postulate

postulate
I. transitive verb (-lated; -lating) Etymology: Latin postulatus, past participle of postulare; akin to Latin poscere to ask, Old High German forscōn to search, Sanskrit pṛcchati he asks — more at pray Date: 1593 1. demand, claim 2. a. to assume or claim as true, existent, or necessary ; depend upon or start from the postulate of b. to assume as a postulate or axiom (as in logic or mathematics) • postulation nounpostulational adjective II. noun Etymology: Medieval Latin postulatum, from neuter of postulatus, past participle of postulare to assume, from Latin, to demand Date: 1646 1. a hypothesis advanced as an essential presupposition, condition, or premise of a train of reasoning 2. axiom 3

New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.

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  • Postulate — Pos tu*late, n. [L. postulatum a demand, request, prop. p. p. of postulare to demand, prob. a dim. of poscere to demand, prob. for porcscere; akin to G. forschen to search, investigate, Skr. prach to ask, and L. precari to pray: cf. F. postulat.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Postulate — Pos tu*late, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Postulated}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Postulating}.] 1. To beg, or assume without proof; as, to postulate conclusions. [1913 Webster] 2. To take without express consent; to assume. [1913 Webster] The Byzantine emperors… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • postulate# — postulate vb *presuppose, presume, assume, premise, posit Analogous words: affirm, aver, predicate, *assert postulate n presupposition, presumption, assumption, premise, posit (see under PRESUPPOSE) Analogous words: *principle, axiom, theorem,… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • Postulate — Pos tu*late, a. Postulated. [Obs.] Hudibras. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • postulate — I noun assertion, assumed truth, assumption, axiom, conjecture, foundation, hypothesis, premise, speculation, starting point, statement, suggestion, sumptio, supposal, supposition, surmise, theorem, thesis, truism II verb advance, assume,… …   Law dictionary

  • postulate — (v.) early 15c. (implied in postulation), nominate to a church office, from M.L. postulatus, pp. of postulare to ask, demand, probably formed from pp. of L. poscere ask urgently, demand, from *posk to , Italic inchoative of PIE root *prek to ask… …   Etymology dictionary

  • postulate — [v] suppose, figure advance, affirm, assert, assume, aver, estimate, guess, hypothesize, posit, predicate, premise, presuppose, propose, put forward, speculate, suppose, take for granted, theorize; concepts 12,26 Ant. calculate …   New thesaurus

  • postulate — ► VERB 1) suggest or assume the existence, fact, or truth of (something) as a basis for reasoning or belief. 2) nominate or elect to an ecclesiastical office subject to the sanction of a higher authority. ► NOUN ▪ a thing postulated. DERIVATIVES… …   English terms dictionary

  • postulate — [päs′chə lāt΄; ] for n., usually [, päs′chəlit] vt. postulated, postulating [< L postulatus, pp. of postulare, to demand < base of poscere, to demand < IE * pṛk̑skā, question < base * perk̑ , to ask > Ger frage, question] 1. to… …   English World dictionary

  • postulate — I n. (formal) a postulate that + clause (his postulate that the area was uninhabited proved to be true) II v. (formal) (L) they postulated that the collision had been caused by fog * * * [ pɒstjʊleɪt] (formal) (L) they postulated that the… …   Combinatory dictionary

  • postulate — I UK [ˈpɒstjʊleɪt] / US [ˈpɑstʃəˌleɪt] verb [transitive] Word forms postulate : present tense I/you/we/they postulate he/she/it postulates present participle postulating past tense postulated past participle postulated formal to claim or imagine… …   English dictionary

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