# hypothesis

Pronunciation: US say "hy-POTH-uh-sis" /haɪˈpɑθəsɪs/; UK say "hy-POTH-i-sis" /haɪˈpɒθɪsɪs/

## Noun

1. A tentative explanation for an observation or phenomenon that can be tested through further observation, investigation, or experimentation.
   - Simple: An idea about why something happens that you can test with experiments or careful watching.
   - _The researchers' hypothesis linked the fish die-off to runoff from nearby farms._
   - _Several competing hypotheses attempt to explain the region's sudden bee decline._
2. Something assumed to be true, without proof, so that an argument can be made or an investigation carried out.
   - Simple: Something you treat as true for now so you can build an argument or a plan.
   - _Suppose, as a working hypothesis, that the manuscript was copied by two different scribes._
   - _The detective proceeded on the hypothesis that the thief had a key to the building._
3. In a conditional statement, the antecedent: the clause that states the condition.
   - Simple: The first part of an 'if ... then' sentence: the part that starts with 'if'.
   - _In 'If wages rise, prices will follow,' the hypothesis is the clause about wages._
   - _Diagramming the sentence, she labeled the hypothesis and the conclusion separately._

## Origin

Recorded since 1596, hypothesis came through Middle French hypothese and Late Latin hypothesis from Ancient Greek hupóthesis ("base, basis of an argument, supposition"), literally "a placing under," built from hupó ("below") plus títhēmi ("I put, place").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/hypothesis (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).