premise

pronunciation

How to pronounce premise in British English: UK [ˈpremɪs] word uk audio image

How to pronounce premise in American English: US [ˈpremɪs] word us audio image

Noun:

a statement that is assumed to be true and from which a conclusion can be drawn
Verb:

set forth beforehand, often as an explanation
furnish with a preface or introduction
take something as preexisting and given

Word Origin

premise: premise: [14] Premise comes via Old French premisse from medieval Latin praemissa, a noun use of the past participle of Latin praemittere ‘send ahead’. This was a compound verb formed from the prefix prae- ‘before’ and mittere ‘send’ (source of English admit, commit, mission, transmit, etc). It first entered English as a technical term in logic, in which its underlying meaning is of a proposition ‘set before’ someone.But it was also used in the plural as a legal term, meaning ‘matters stated previously’. In a conveyance or will, such ‘matters’ were often houses or other buildings referred to specifically at the beginning of the document, and so the term premises came to denote such buildings.=> admit, commit, mission, permit, submit, transmit

premise (n.): late 14c., in logic, "a previous proposition from which another follows," from Old French premisse (14c.), from Medieval Latin premissa (propositio or sententia) "(the proposition) set before," noun use of fem. past participle of Latin praemittere "send forward, put before," from prae "before" (see pre-) + mittere "to send" (see mission). In legal documents it meant "matter previously stated" (early 15c.), which in deeds or wills often was a house or building, hence the extended meaning "house or building, with grounds" (1730).

premise (v.): "to state before something else," mid-15c., from premise (n.). Related: Premised; premising.