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Origin and history of conjecture

conjecture(n.)

late 14c., "interpretation of signs, dreams, and omens," also "a supposing, a surmising," from Old French conjecture "surmise, guess," or directly from Latin coniectura "conclusion, interpretation, guess, inference," literally "a casting together (of facts, etc.)," from coniectus, past participle of conicere "to throw together," from assimilated form of com "together" (see con-) + iacere "to throw" (from PIE root *ye- "to throw, impel").

Sense of "an unverified supposition" is from 1520s; that of "act of forming of opinion without proof" is from 1530s.

conjecture(v.)

early 15c., "infer, predict, form (an opinion or notion) upon probabilities or slight evidence," from conjecture (n.) or from verbs in Medieval Latin and Old French. Middle English had also the parallel forms conjecte (n.), conjecten (v.). Related: Conjectured; conjecturing.

also from early 15c.

Entries linking to conjecture

conject(v.)

"to conjecture, suppose, assume," also "to contrive, plot," late 14c., from Latin coniectare; an obsolete verb replaced by conjecture (v.). Also in form congette.

con-

word-forming element meaning "together, with," sometimes merely intensive; it is the form of com- used in Latin before consonants except -b-, -p-, -l-, -m-, or -r-. In native English formations (such as costar), co- tends to be used where Latin would use con-.

*ye-

*yē-, Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to throw, impel."

It might form all or part of: abject; abjection; adjacence; adjacent; adjective; aphetic; catheter; circumjacent; conjecture; deject; ease; ejaculate; eject; enema; gist; ictus; interjacent; inject; interject; interjection; jess; jet (v.1) "to sprout or spurt forth, shoot out;" jet (n.1) "stream of water;" jete; jetsam; jettison; jetton; jetty (n.) "pier;" joist; jut; object; objection; objective; paresis; project; projectile; reject; rejection; subjacent; subject; subjective; trajectory.

It might also be the source of: Hittite ijami "I make;" Latin iacere "to throw, cast."

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    speculation
    late 14c., speculacioun, "intelligent contemplation, consideration; act of looking," from Old French speculacion "close observation, rapt attention," and directly from Late Latin speculationem (nominative speculatio) "contemplation, observation, a spying out," noun of action from
    guess
    c. 1300, gessen "to infer from observation, perceive, find out; form an opinion, judge, decide, discern; evaluate, estimate the number, importance, etc. of," perhaps from Scandinavian (compare Middle Danish gitse, getze "to guess," Old Norse geta "guess, get"), or from or influen
    supposition
    early 15c., supposicioun, a term in Scholastic logic, "admission of a likelihood based on the truth of its consequences, assumption for the sake of argument, hypothetical inference, conjecture," from Medieval Latin suppositionem (nominative suppositio) "assumption, hypothesis, a
    conjectural
    "depending on conjecture, implying a guess," 1550s, from Latin coniecturalis "belonging to conjecture," from coniectura "...
    stochastic
    1660s, "pertaining to conjecture," from Greek stokhastikos "able to guess, conjecturing," from stokhazesthai "to guess, aim...at, conjecture," from stokhos "a guess, aim, fixed target, erected pillar for archers to shoot at," which is perhaps from...
    balderdash
    1590s, of obscure origin despite much 19c. conjecture; in early use "a jumbled mix of liquors" (milk and beer, beer and wine...
    opine
    that," from Old French oppiner, opiner (15c.) and directly from Latin opinari "have an opinion, be of opinion, suppose, conjecture...
    hypothecate
    1680s, "pledge (something) without giving up control of it; pawn; mortgage," from hypothecat-, past-participle stem of Medieval Latin hypothecare, from Late Latin hypotheca "a pledge," from Greek hypothēkē "a deposit, pledge, mortgage," from hypo- "beneath, under" (see hypo-) + t
    anticipate
    1530s, "to cause to happen sooner," a back-formation from anticipation, or else from Latin anticipatus, past participle of anticipare "take (care of) ahead of time," literally "taking into possession beforehand," from anti, an old form of ante "before" (from PIE root *ant- "front
    opinion
    early 14c., opinioun, "a judgment formed or a conclusion reached, especially one based on evidence that does not produce knowledge or certainty," from Old French opinion "opinion, view, judgements founded upon probabilities" (12c.), from Latin opinionem (nominative opinio) "opini

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