presumptive
Meanings
- Based on presumption or conjecture; inferred, likely, presumed.
- Often postpositive, as in heir presumptive: of an heir or heiress: presumed to be entitled to inherit unless someone with a superior entitlement is born.
- Of a cell or tissue: which has yet to differentiate, but is presumed to develop into a particular body part.
- Synonym of presumptuous (“making unwarranted presumptions or assumptions, often out of arrogance or excessive self-confidence, and thus exceeding what is appropriate or right”).
- Chiefly in presumptive evidence: providing a reasonable basis for a certain presumption or conclusion to be drawn.
Pronunciation
Word forms
Etymology
PIE word *upó 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”)).