CONJECTURE


Meaning of CONJECTURE in English

I. kən-ˈjek-chər noun

Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French or Latin; Middle French, from Latin conjectura, from conjectus, past participle of conicere, literally, to throw together, from com- + jacere to throw — more at jet

Date: 14th century

1. obsolete

a. : interpretation of omens

b. : supposition

2.

a. : inference from defective or presumptive evidence

b. : a conclusion deduced by surmise or guesswork

c. : a proposition (as in mathematics) before it has been proved or disproved

II. verb

( -tured ; con·jec·tur·ing -ˈjek-chə-riŋ, -ˈjek-shriŋ)

Date: 15th century

transitive verb

1. : to arrive at or deduce by conjecture : guess

scientists conjecturing that a disease is caused by a defective gene

2. : to make conjectures as to

conjecture the meaning of a statement

intransitive verb

: to form conjectures

• con·jec·tur·er -ˈjek-chər-ər noun

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate English vocabulary.      Энциклопедический словарь английского языка Merriam Webster.