presumptive
UK /pɹɪˈzʌm(p)tɪv/ · US /pɹiˈzʌm(p)tɪv/ adjective
- adjective Based on presumption or conjecture; inferred, likely, presumed. “By late May, he was already considered his party’s presumptive nominee.”
- adjective 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. “The Queen’s younger brother was the heir presumptive to the throne, until she gave birth to her first child.”
- adjective (embryology) Of a cell or tissue: which has yet to differentiate, but is presumed to develop into a particular body part.
- adjective Synonym of presumptuous (“making unwarranted presumptions or assumptions, often out of arrogance or excessive self-confidence, and thus exceeding what is appropriate or right”). “Forgive me for being presumptive, but aren’t you and Mark engaged?”
- adjective (often law) Chiefly in presumptive evidence: providing a reasonable basis for a certain presumption or conclusion to be drawn.
Synonyms
Etymology
From pre- + Latin sūmptus + -ive, 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”)).
Webster’s 1913
- adjective Based on presumption or probability; grounded on probable evidence; probable; as, presumptive proof.
- adjective Presumptuous; arrogant. [R.] Sir T. Browne. Presumptive evidence (Law), that which is derived from circumstances which necessarily or usually attend a fact, as distinct from direct evidence or positive proof; indirect or circumstantial evidence. "Presumptive evidence of felony should be cautiously admitted." Blackstone. The distinction, however, between direct and presumptive (or circumstantial) evidence is now generally abandoned; all evidence being now more or less direct and more or less presumptive.
Etymology [Cf. F. présomptif.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “presumptive”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details