postulate

Founding-era definition · Webster's 1828 American Dictionary

POS'TULATE, noun [Latin postulatum, from postulo, to demand, from the root of posco, to ask or demand. The sense is to urge or push.] A position or supposition assumed without proof, or one which is considered as self-evident, or too plain to require illustration. A self-evident problem, answering to axiom, which is a self-evident theorem. POS'TULATE, verb transitive [supra.] To beg or assume without proof. [Little used.] 1. To invite; to solicit; to require by entreaty. 2. To assume; to take without positive consent. The Byzantine emperors appear to have exercised, or at least to have postulated a sort of paramount supremacy over this nation.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI

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