assumption

Pronunciation

• IPA: /əˈsʌm(p).ʃ(ə)n/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English assumpcioun, borrowed from Old French asompsion, assumpcion (modern French assomption),^[2][3] and directly from Latin assumptiō, assumptiōnem, a taking up, receiving, adoption,^[2][4] from assumptus, past participle of assūmere, to take up, take to oneself (see assume).^[2][4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The reception of the Virgin Mary into heaven, and the feast of 15 August that commemorates it: 1297 in the OED, about 1300 in Etymonline.^[6][2]

Semantic evolution

Reception into heaven in general is from 1577.^[6] The taking of food into the body (1599) and elevation to office (1642) are obsolete senses.^[6] Taking a form or character upon oneself, or taking office, is from 1646.^[6] The logical sense of a minor premise is also recorded,^[2][7] the act of taking for oneself is from the 1580s, and something taken for granted from the 1620s.^[2] Hoad places both the taking for granted and the sense of a postulate in the 17th century.^[3]

Timeline

• 1297 – the Assumption of the Virgin.^[6]
• 1577 – reception into heaven.^[6]
• 1580s – taking for oneself.^[2]
• 1620s – something taken for granted.^[2]
• 1646 – taking on a form or office.^[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. Something taken for granted or accepted as true without proof; a supposition.
2. The act of taking something for granted.
3. The act of taking on a responsibility, or of taking over power or possession.
4. Presumption or arrogance.
5. (logic) A minor premise.
6. (Assumption, Christianity) The taking up of the Virgin Mary, body and soul, into heaven, or the feast on 15 August commemorating it.

Word family

• misassumption
• nonassumption
• preassumption
• reassumption
• self-assumption

Related words

• assume
• assumptive
• presumption
• consumption
• resumption

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin