Hypothesis

Hypothesis
Hypothesis Hy*poth"e*sis, n.; pl. {Hypotheses}. [NL., fr. Gr. ? foundation, supposition, fr. ? to place under, ? under + ? to put. See {Hypo-}, {Thesis}.] 1. A supposition; a proposition or principle which is supposed or taken for granted, in order to draw a conclusion or inference for proof of the point in question; something not proved, but assumed for the purpose of argument, or to account for a fact or an occurrence; as, the hypothesis that head winds detain an overdue steamer. [1913 Webster]

An hypothesis being a mere supposition, there are no other limits to hypotheses than those of the human imagination. --J. S. Mill. [1913 Webster]

2. (Natural Science) A tentative theory or supposition provisionally adopted to explain certain facts, and to guide in the investigation of others; hence, frequently called a working hypothesis.

Syn: Supposition; assumption. See {Theory}. [1913 Webster]

{Nebular hypothesis}. See under {Nebular}.


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • hypothesis — hypothesis, theory, law are often interchangeable in general use. In their technical senses they are usually discriminated by the scientists and philosophers who employ them. In general the terms denote an inference from data that is offered as a …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • hypothesis — hy‧poth‧e‧sis [haɪˈpɒθss ǁ ˈpɑː ] noun hypotheses PLURALFORM [ siːz] [countable] STATISTICS an idea that can be tested to see if it is true or not: • These results support the hypothesis that individuals are willing to pay more in order to live …   Financial and business terms

  • hypothesis — hypothesis, hypothesis testing A hypothesis is an untested statement about the relationship (usually of association or causation) between concepts within a given theory . Hypothesis testing involves the testing of a hypothesis in a scientific… …   Dictionary of sociology

  • hypothesis — I noun assertion, assignment of cause, assumption, conclusion drawn from accepted truths, coniectura, conjecture, deduction, guess, inference, postulate, postulation, speculation, suggestion, supposal, supposition, surmise, tentative explanation …   Law dictionary

  • hypothesis — 1590s, from M.Fr. hypothese and directly from L.L. hypothesis, from Gk. hypothesis base, basis of an argument, supposition, lit. a placing under, from hypo under (see SUB (Cf. sub )) + thesis a placing, proposition (see THESIS (Cf. thesis)) …   Etymology dictionary

  • hypothesis — [hī päth′ə sis, hipäth′ə sis] n. pl. hypotheses [hī päth′əsēz΄, hi päth′əsēz΄] [Gr, groundwork, foundation, supposition < hypotithenai, to place under < hypo , under + tithenai, to place: see HYPO & DO1] an unproved theory, proposition,… …   English World dictionary

  • hypothesis — hypothesis. См. теория попаданий. (Источник: «Англо русский толковый словарь генетических терминов». Арефьев В.А., Лисовенко Л.А., Москва: Изд во ВНИРО, 1995 г.) …   Молекулярная биология и генетика. Толковый словарь.

  • hypothesis — hypothesis. См. теория онкогенов. (Источник: «Англо русский толковый словарь генетических терминов». Арефьев В.А., Лисовенко Л.А., Москва: Изд во ВНИРО, 1995 г.) …   Молекулярная биология и генетика. Толковый словарь.

  • hypothesis — meaning ‘something proposed as a basis for reasoning’, has the plural form hypotheses, pronounced seez …   Modern English usage

  • hypothesis — [n] theory antecedent, apriority, assignment, assumption, attribution, axiom, basis, belief, conclusion, condition, conjecture, data, deduction, demonstration, derivation, explanation, foundation, ground, guess, inference, interpretation, layout …   New thesaurus

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