Assume

How to spell assume

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce assume

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does assume mean?

1. verbTo accept something as true or certain without proof.
2. verbTo take on a role, duty, or responsibility.

Assume in a sentence

• We assume the meeting still starts at nine unless someone says otherwise.

• She will assume control of the department in March.

• Do not assume the parcel arrived just because the tracking page updated.

• The deputy had to assume command while the captain was away.

Where does assume come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word comes from the Latin verb assumere, which meant 'to take up' or 'to take to oneself'. It was built from the prefix ad-, meaning 'to' or 'towards', joined to the verb sumere, meaning 'to take', and before a following s the ad- was smoothed into as-, which is exactly why the modern spelling carries a double s. English picked the word up in the early 1400s, partly through Old French, with the early sense of taking something on oneself, such as a duty or an office. From there it developed the familiar mental sense of 'taking something to be true' without proof, since to assume an idea is to adopt it ready-made. The same sumere root surfaces in relatives such as 'consume', 'resume', and 'presume', and noticing that shared family helps fix the single m and the double s in place.

How the word is built

• as- (assimilated form of ad-: to, towards)
• sume (from Latin sumere: to take)