Posits

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To suggest a theoretical concept or assumption for review; to place or set something down in a specified location; to consider a statement or condition as accepted for further examination
2. To state something as a fact or foundation for argument ; to present an idea or theory to be examined ; to place an object in a particular spot
3. To claim or assume something as true in order to build reasoning ; to introduce a hypothesis for consideration ; to lay something down physically

Etymology: The word "posits" is an inflected form, the third-person singular present of "posit," so the root is what matters. "Posit" was borrowed from Latin "positus," the past participle of "pōnō," meaning "put" or "place." That physical sense of setting something down is still visible in the verb's third meaning, to place an object in a particular spot, which is closest to the original. The more abstract senses, stating something as a foundation for argument or presenting an idea for examination, grew out of that image. To posit something is figuratively to set it down in the open as a starting point, so that others can take it up and test it. Much of the word's modern vigour comes from this move from a concrete act of placing to an intellectual one.

Synonyms: asserts, proposes, hypothesizes, suggests, claims