Dictionary Definition
premise n : a statement that is assumed to be
true and from which a conclusion can be drawn; "on the assumption
that he has been injured we can infer that he will not to play"
[syn: premiss, assumption]
Verb
1 set forth beforehand, often as an explanation;
"He premised these remarks so that his readers might
understand"
2 furnish with a preface or introduction; "She
always precedes her lectures with a joke"; "He prefaced his lecture
with a critical remark about the institution" [syn: precede, preface, introduce]
3 take something as preexisting and given [syn:
premiss]
User Contributed Dictionary
English
Alternative spellings
Pronunciation
- /ˈprɛmɪs/
- /"prEmIs/
Noun
- A proposition antecedently supposed or proved; something previously stated or assumed as the basis of further argument; a condition; a supposition.
- Either of the first two propositions of a syllogism, from which the conclusion is deduced.
- Matters previously stated or set forth; esp., that part in the beginning of a deed, the office of which is to express the grantor and grantee, and the land or thing granted or conveyed, and all that precedes the habendum; the thing demised or granted.
- A piece of real estate;
a building and its
adjuncts (in this sense,
used most often in the plural form).
- trespass on another’s premises
Translations
proposition antecedently supposed or proved
either of the first two propositions of a
syllogism, from which the conclusion is deduced
- Czech: předpoklad, premisa
- Dutch: voorwaarde
- Hebrew: הנחה
- Portuguese: premissa
Matters previously stated or set forth
- Hebrew: הנחה
- Portuguese: premissa
piece of real estate
- Dutch: perceel
- ttbc German: Prämisse
Verb
- To state or assume something as a proposition to an argument
- To make a premise
Italian
Verb
premiseExtensive Definition
In discourse and logic, a premise is a claim that
is a reason
(or element of a set of reasons) for, or objection
against, some other claim. In other words, it is a statement presumed true
within the context of an argument toward a conclusion. Premises are
sometimes stated explicitly by way of disambiguation or for
emphasis, but more often they are left tacitly understood as being
obvious or self-evident
("it goes without saying"), or not conducive to succinct discourse.
For example, in the argument
-
- Socrates is mortal, since all men are
it is evident that a tacitly understood claim is
that Socrates is a man. The fully expressed reasoning is
thus:
-
- Since all men are mortal and Socrates is a man, it follows that Socrates is mortal.
In this example, the first two independent
clauses preceding the
comma (namely, "all men are mortal" and "Socrates is a man") are
the premises, while "Socrates is mortal" is the conclusion.
In the context of ordinary argumentation, the
rational acceptability of a disputed conclusion depends on both the
truth of the premises and
the soundness of the
reasoning from the premises to the conclusion.
See also
- Argument map
- Argumentation theory
- Co-premise
- Inference objection
- Main contention
- Proposition
- Statement in mathematical logic and philosophy
- Validity
premise in Macedonian: Премиса
premise in Polish: Przesłanka
premise in German: Prämisse
premise in Finnish: Premissi
Synonyms, Antonyms and Related Words
a priori principle, affirmation, ancestor, antecedent, apriorism, argue, assert, assertion, assume, assumed position,
assumption,
avant-propos, axiom,
basis, basis for belief,
body of evidence, breakthrough, categorical
proposition, chain of evidence, clue, conjecture, data, datum, documentation, evidence, exhibit, exordium, fact, facts, first principles, forerunner, foreword, foundation, front matter,
frontispiece,
ground, grounds, grounds for belief,
guesswork, hypothecate, hypothesis, hypothesis ad
hoc, hypothesize,
indication, inference, innovation, introduce, introduction, item of
evidence, leap, lemma, major premise, manifestation, mark, material grounds, minor
premise, muniments,
mute witness, overture,
philosopheme,
philosophical proposition, piece of evidence, posit, position, postulate, postulation, postulatum, preamble, precedent, precursor, predicate, preface, prefix, prefixture, preliminary, prelude, premises, premiss, presume, presumption, presupposal, presuppose, presupposition, proem, prolegomena, prolegomenon, prolepsis, prologize, prologue, proof, proposal, propose, proposition, propositional
function, protasis, put
forth, reason to believe, relevant fact, set forth, set of
postulates, sign, statement, sumption, supposal, suppose, supposing, supposition, surmise, symptom, theorem, theorize, thesis, token, truth table,
truth-function, truth-value, verse, voluntary, working
hypothesis