I. adjective
Etymology: Middle English, from past participle of given to give
1. : presented as a gift : bestowed without compensation
the millionaire … finds that given goods never prosper — London Daily News
2. : marked by an inclination or disposition : prone — used with to
armies everywhere and in all ages have been given to swearing — Burges Johnson
3. of an official document : having been executed : dated
given under my hand and seal this 30th day of June
4.
a. : definitely stated : fixed , specified
the number of musicians to be engaged for a given concert — Robert Lawrence
b. : assumed as actual or hypothetical : set forth as or as if known : determined , granted
given the national panickiness … liberals have to be very careful of the company they keep — H.J.Muller
5. : immediately presented specifically without interpretation or elaboration
the given element is this incorrigible presentational element; the critizable and dubitable element is the element of interpretation — C.I.Lewis
— used especially in philosophy
II. noun
( -s )
: something given : datum
it is taken as a given that language is the principal mode of communication for human beings — G.L.Trager
especially : the component of the knowing process that is distinguished from what is supplied by thought or inference or from the hypothetical
in a sense the given is ineffable; it is that which remains untouched and unaltered, however it is construed by thought — C.I.Lewis