Presumption

How to spell presumption

11 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce presumption

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does presumption mean?

1. nounA belief or assumption taken to be true without proof, often based on what is likely or reasonable.
2. nounArrogant or disrespectful behaviour that goes beyond what is proper or permitted.

Presumption in a sentence

• The investigation rested on the presumption that the records were accurate.

• It was sheer presumption to rewrite the manager's report without asking.

• There is a strong presumption that the older contract still applies.

• She resented his presumption in assuming the corner office was already his.

Where does presumption come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word descends from the Latin praesumptio, a noun built on the verb praesumere, which literally meant 'to take beforehand' or 'to take for granted', formed from prae 'before' and sumere 'to take or seize'. In late Latin it came to describe both an anticipation of something and an over-confident boldness, the act of taking more for yourself than is due. English borrowed it through Old French presumpcion in the 1200s, carrying both threads: the neutral idea of an assumption taken as true and the harsher idea of arrogant overreach. The same sumere root surfaces in everyday relatives such as 'assume', 'consume' and 'resume', which is a useful memory hook. Notice that the spelling keeps the buried 'p' from sumptio, so the tricky cluster is '-sumption', echoing 'consumption' and 'assumption' rather than a simpler '-sumtion'.

How the word is built

• pre- (before, beforehand)
• sum (from Latin sumere: to take)
• -ption (noun-forming suffix)