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