postulate

[ verb pos-chuh-leyt; noun pos-chuh-lit, -leyt ]

/ verb ˈpɒs tʃəˌleɪt; noun ˈpɒs tʃə lɪt, -ˌleɪt /

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verb (used with object), pos·tu·lat·ed, pos·tu·lat·ing.

to ask, demand, or claim.

to claim or assume the existence or truth of, especially as a basis for reasoning or arguing.

to assume without proof, or as self-evident; take for granted.

Mathematics, Logic. to assume as a postulate.

noun

something taken as self-evident or assumed without proof as a basis for reasoning.

Mathematics, Logic. a proposition that requires no proof, being self-evident, or that is for a specific purpose assumed true, and that is used in the proof of other propositions; axiom.

a fundamental principle.

a necessary condition; prerequisite.

Nearby words

posttraumatic stress disorder, posttraumatic syndrome, posttyphoid, postulancy, postulant, postulate, postulator, postural, postural contraction, postural drainage, postural position

Origin of postulate

1525–35; < Latin postulātum petition, thing requested, noun use of neuter of past participle of postulāre to request, demand, akin to pōscere to request

SYNONYMS FOR postulate

3 hypothecate, presuppose, conjecture.

5 hypothesis, theory; axiom; assumption, conjecture.

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Related forms

pos·tu·la·tion, nounpos·tu·la·tion·al, adjectivere·pos·tu·late, verb (used with object), re·pos·tu·lat·ed, re·pos·tu·lat·ing.re·pos·tu·late, noun

re·pos·tu·la·tion, nounun·pos·tu·lat·ed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for postulation

This postulation, says a close thinker, is the very foundation and essence of religion.
The Religious Sentiment|Daniel G. Brinton
Postulation and the verifying of postulates is thus a process of reciprocal discrimination and selection.
Pragmatism|D.L. Murray
The postulation by him of molecular force at this point, is virtually an abandonment of the whole controversy.
Life: Its True Genesis|R. W. Wright
But Science has been reluctant to recognise that it is now entitled to dispense with the postulation of Matter.
Essays Towards a Theory of Knowledge|Alexander Philip

But such esoteric combinations are not at all necessary for the postulation of wildly variant life forms.
Cum Grano Salis|Gordon Randall Garrett

British Dictionary definitions for postulation

postulate

verb (ˈpɒstjʊˌleɪt) (tr; may take a clause as object)

to assume to be true or existent; take for granted

to ask, demand, or claim

to nominate (a person) to a post or office subject to approval by a higher authority

noun (ˈpɒstjʊlɪt)

something taken as self-evident or assumed as the basis of an argument

a necessary condition or prerequisite

a fundamental principle

logic maths an unproved and indemonstrable statement that should be taken for granted: used as an initial premise or underlying hypothesis in a process of reasoning

Derived Formspostulation, noun

Word Origin for postulate

C16: from Latin postulāre to ask for, require; related to pōscere to request

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for postulation (1 of 2)

postulate

1530s, "nominate to a church office," from Medieval Latin postulatus, past participle of postulare "to ask, demand; claim; require," probably formed from past participle of Latin poscere "ask urgently, demand," from *posk-to-, Italic inchoative of PIE root *prek- "to ask questions" (cf. Sanskrit prcchati, Avestan peresaiti "interrogates," Old High German forskon, German forschen "to search, inquire"). Use in logic dates from 1640s, borrowed from Medieval Latin.

Word Origin and History for postulation (1 of 2)

postulate

1580s, "a request, demand," from Latin postulatum "demand, request," properly "that which is requested," noun use of neuter past participle of postulare (see postulate (v.)). The sense in logic of "self-evident proposition" is from 1640s. The earlier noun in English was postulation (c.1400).

Medicine definitions for postulation

postulate

[ pŏs′chə-lāt′ ]

v.

To assume or assert the truth or necessity of, especially as a basis of an argument.

n.

An unproved assertion or assumption, especially a statement offered as the basis of a theory.

Related formspos′tu•la′tion n.

Science definitions for postulation

postulate

[ pŏs′chə-lĭt ]

See axiom.

Culture definitions for postulation

postulate

A statement accepted as true for the purposes of argument or scientific investigation; also, a basic principle. (See axiom.)

postulate

verb (used with object), pos·tu·lat·ed, pos·tu·lat·ing.

noun

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of postulate

Examples from the Web for postulation

British Dictionary definitions for postulation

postulate

verb (ˈpɒstjʊˌleɪt) (tr; may take a clause as object)

noun (ˈpɒstjʊlɪt)

Word Origin for postulate

Word Origin and History for postulation (1 of 2)

postulate

Word Origin and History for postulation (1 of 2)

postulate

Medicine definitions for postulation

postulate

v.

n.

Science definitions for postulation

postulate

Culture definitions for postulation

postulate