hypothesis
hy·pot·he·sis
noun
a tentative theory about the natural world; a concept that is not yet verified but that if true would explain certain facts or phenomena
- “a scientific hypothesis that survives experimental testing becomes a scientific theory”
- “he proposed a fresh theory of alkalis that later was accepted in chemical practices”
a message expressing an opinion based on incomplete evidence
Origin
Recorded since 1596, from Middle French hypothese, from Late Latin hypothesis, from Ancient Greek ὑπόθεσις (hupóthesis, “base, basis of an argument, supposition”, literally “a placing under”), itself from ὑποτίθημι (hupotíthēmi, “to set before, suggest”), from ὑπό (hupó, “below”) + τίθημι (títhēmi, “to put, place”). Compare hypothec.
Phrases
- alternative hypothesis
- aquatic ape hypothesis
- Avogadro's hypothesis
- berserker hypothesis
- conspiracy hypothesis
- continuum hypothesis
- cosmic censorship hypothesis
- critical brain hypothesis
Related words
Narrower terms
Parts
WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.