hypothesis

Pronunciation

• IPA: /haɪˈpɒθɪsɪs/, /hɪˈpɒθɪsɪs/ (UK)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Late Latin hypothesis, perhaps influenced by Middle French hypothèse,^[2][3] from Ancient Greek ὑπόθεσις (hupóthesis, “foundation, basis of an argument, supposition”),^[2][3][4] from ὑπό (hupó, “under”) and θέσις (thésis, “a placing, proposition”) (see thesis),^[2][3] from ὑποτίθημι (hupotíthēmi, “to put under, suppose”).^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

A particular case of a general thesis or proposition: 1596 in Barnhart and the OED, the 1590s in Etymonline.^[2][6][3]

Semantic evolution

A proposition assumed as a premise is from the 1650s,^[3][6] and a groundless supposition from 1625.^[6] The scientific sense, a supposition put forward to explain known facts, is from 1646,^[6][2][3] which Barnhart finds curiously late.^[2] Hypothesize is from 1738.^[2]

Timeline

• 1596 – a particular thesis.^[2][6]
• 1625 – a mere assumption.^[6]
• 1646 – a scientific hypothesis.^[6][2]
• 1656 – a premise.^[6][5]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A proposed explanation for a set of facts that can be tested by further investigation.
2. Something assumed to be true for the sake of argument; an assumption.
3. (logic) The antecedent of a conditional statement.

Word family

• hypothesist
• counterhypothesis
• hypothesize
• hypothetical
• subhypothesis
• alternative hypothesis
• continuum hypothesis
• Gaia hypothesis

Related words

• thesis
• theme
• synthesis

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press