Etymologically
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suppose

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /səˈpəʊz/, US /səˈpoʊz/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English supposen,[2][3][4] borrowed from Old French supposer (“to assume”) (13th century),[2][3] probably a replacement, under the influence of poser “to put, place”, of *suppondre,[2][3][4] from Latin suppōnere (“to put under; to subordinate”),[2][3][5] which in Medieval Latin also meant “to suppose, assume”,[4][3] from sub “under” and pōnere “to put, place”.[2][3] It is related to pose, position and supposition.[3][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

To hold an opinion, assume, incline to think: about 1303 in Barnhart, in Mannyng's Handlyng Synne;[3] about 1300 in Etymonline, also “to make a hypothesis”;[2] 1340 in the OED.[6]

Semantic evolution

To imagine or conceive is from about 1386,[6] and parenthetical I suppose from 1390.[6] To admit as possible, believe without reflection, is from the 1520s,[2] and to infer hypothetically from about 1600.[2][7] The noun suppose, a supposition, was used from 1566 but is now obsolete.[6] Supposed as an adjective is from 1582,[3] and supposedly from 1611.[3] Supposition is from 1410.[3] In the dialects of Scotland and the English Midlands suppose was used as a conjunction meaning “even if”.[8]

Timeline

  • c. 1303 – to hold an opinion.[3]
  • c. 1386 – to imagine.[6]
  • 1410 – supposition.[3]
  • 1520s – to believe without reflection.[2]
  • 1566 – noun (obsolete).[6]
  • 1582 – supposed.[3]
  • c. 1600 – to infer hypothetically.[2]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. To believe or assume, especially on uncertain grounds.
  2. To take as true for the sake of argument: suppose it rains.
  3. To consider likely; to expect.
  4. To require as a condition; to presuppose.
  5. be supposed to: to be expected or required to.

Word family

  • supposable
  • supposably
  • supposer
  • missuppose
  • supposal
  • pose
  • position
  • supposition
  • suppository
  • presuppose

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ a b c 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 Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)