Link Centre Dictionary

presumptive

pre·sump·tive

UK/pɹɪˈzʌm(p)tɪv/ US/pɹiˈzʌm(p)tɪv/ uncommon

adjective

1.

having a reasonable basis for belief or acceptance

  • “the presumptive heir (or heir apparent)”
Similar
2.

affording reasonable grounds for belief or acceptance

  • “presumptive evidence”
  • “a strong presumptive case is made out”
Similar

Origin

PIE word *upó From pre- + Latin sūmptus + -ive, from Late Middle English presumptif, presumptijf (“based on presumption”), from Anglo-Norman presumptif and Middle French presumptif, présomptif (“based on presumption; of an heir or heiress: presumed to be entitled to inherit unless someone with a superior entitlement is born; presumptuous”) (modern French présomptif), and directly from their etymon Late Latin praesumptivus (“based on presumption; bold; insolent”), from Latin praesūmptus (“presumed”) + -īvus (suffix forming adjectives). Praesūmptus is the perfect passive participle of praesūmō (“to presume”), from prae- (prefix meaning ‘before; in front’) + sūmō (“to seize, take; to accept, presuppose; to undertake”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁em- (“to distribute; to take”)).

Phrases

  • heir presumptive
  • heiress presumptive
  • presumption of innocence

Related words

Word family

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.