# premise

Pronunciation: say "PREM-iss" US/UK /ˈpɹɛm.ɪs/, AUS /ˈpɹem.ɪs/

## Noun

1. A statement assumed or accepted as true, serving as the basis for further reasoning or argument.
   - Simple: An idea or fact that you accept as true and use as the base for an argument.
   - _The debate collapsed once the central premise was shown to be false._
   - _Economists built their forecast on the premise that interest rates would stay low._
2. One of the initial propositions of a syllogism, from which the conclusion is logically derived.
   - Simple: One of the first statements in an argument that leads to a conclusion.
   - _A syllogism with a faulty major premise yields an unsound conclusion._
   - _Logicians distinguish the two premises that together entail the conclusion._
3. The basic situation or idea on which the plot of a film, novel, or other story is built.
   - Simple: The main idea that a story or movie is built around.
   - _The film's premise, a man reliving the same day, has been copied many times._
   - _Reviewers praised the clever premise but found the pacing slow._
4. A piece of real estate consisting of a building along with its land and attached structures.
   - Simple: A building together with the land and structures that belong to it.
   - _The company leased commercial premises in the business district this spring._
   - _Security guards patrol the premises for an hour after closing._
8. The matters set forth earlier in a deed; specifically the opening portion that identifies the grantor, the grantee, and the property conveyed, covering everything before the habendum.
   - Simple: In a legal deed, the opening part that names the giver, the receiver, and the property being handed over.
   - _The premises of the conveyance identified both parties and described the parcel of land._
   - _A drafting error in the premises left the grantee's name misspelled._

## Verb

5. To state or assume something as a proposition forming the basis of an argument.
   - Simple: To say or assume something as the starting idea of an argument.
   - _Critics premise their objection on a misreading of the text._
   - _She premised the whole theory on data that later proved false._
6. To set something out beforehand as an introduction, to help explain or prepare for what follows.
   - Simple: To say something first to help explain what comes next.
   - _The author premises each chapter with a brief historical note._
   - _Allow me to premise my report with some background._
7. To put forward or lay down a premise.
   - Simple: To put forward an idea as a premise.
   - _Good philosophers premise before they deduce._
   - _She premised, then reasoned step by step to her conclusion._
9. To send something ahead or before its proper time, and so to place one thing before another or to use something first, in advance of what follows.
   - Simple: To send or use something earlier, so that it comes before something else.

## Origin

This word came through Middle English and Old French from Medieval Latin "premissa" (set before), from the feminine past participle of Latin "praemittere" (to send or put before), formed from "prae-" (before) plus "mittere" (to send). The sense of a piece of real estate arose when property owners misinterpreted the word while reading its legal use in title deeds.

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