Hypothesis

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  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}. Hypothetic

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  hypothesis
       n 1: a proposal intended to explain certain facts or observations
       2: a tentative theory about the natural world; a concept that
          is not yet verified but that if true would explain certain
          facts or phenomena; "a scientific hypothesis that survives
          experimental testing becomes a scientific theory"; "he
          proposed a fresh theory of alkalis that later was accepted
          in chemical practices" [syn: {possibility}, {theory}]
       3: a message expressing an opinion based on incomplete evidence
          [syn: {guess}, {conjecture}, {supposition}, {surmise}, {surmisal},
           {speculation}]
       [also: {hypotheses} (pl)]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  48 Moby Thesaurus words for "hypothesis":
     a priori principle, affirmation, apriorism, assertion,
     assumed position, assumption, axiom, basis,
     categorical proposition, conjecture, data, first principles,
     foundation, ground, guesswork, hypothesis ad hoc, inference, lemma,
     major premise, minor premise, philosopheme,
     philosophical proposition, position, postulate, postulation,
     postulatum, premise, premiss, presumption, presupposal,
     presupposition, proposition, propositional function,
     set of postulates, speculation, statement, sumption, supposal,
     supposing, supposition, surmise, theorem, theory, thesis,
     truth table, truth-function, truth-value, working hypothesis