proposal

First recorded in 1645–55; propose + -al²

1. recommendation. 2. suggestion, design. Proposal, overture, proposition refer to something in the nature of an offer. A proposal is a plan, a scheme, an offer to be accepted or rejected: to make proposals for peace. An overture is a friendly approach, an opening move (perhaps involving a proposal) tentatively looking toward the settlement of a controversy or else preparing the way for a proposal or the like: to make overtures to an enemy. Proposition, used in mathematics to refer to a formal statement of truth, and often including the proof or demonstration of the statement, has something of this same meaning when used nontechnically (particularly in business). A proposition is a proposal in which the terms are clearly stated and their advantageous nature emphasized: His proposition involved a large discount to the retailer.