postulaten.²

Brit.

/ˈpɒstjᵿlət/,

/ˈpɒstʃᵿlət/, U.S.

/ˈpɑstʃələt/

Origin: A borrowing from Latin. Etymon: Latin postulātum.

Etymology: < classical Latin postulātum demand, petition, request (see postulatum n.), in post-classical Latin also in logic and in mathematics (see below), rendering ancient Greek αἴτημα (Aristotle, Euclid; compare earlier use of post-classical Latin petitio petition n. to render the same term). Compare Italian postulato (a1631), French postulat (1752 in geometry, 1842 in philosophy).In sense 2 after post-classical Latin postulatum (1584 in Pacius Aristotelis Organum; earlier as plural, postulata , in the Latin translation of Rhetorica ad Alexandrum by Philelphus (died 1489), printed 1523). In sense 3 after post-classical Latin postulatum (in plural, postulata, in Latin editions of Euclid, e.g. Zamberti 1537 and Commandinus 1572; also a1596 in geometriae postulata, plural, and 1620 in a British source). N.E.D. (1907) gives only the pronunciation (pǫ·stiŭlĕt) /ˈpɒstjʊlət/.

I. Something asked for or demanded.

1. A demand, a request; spec. something stipulated as a condition of agreement. Cf. sense 4. Now rare.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > speech > request > [noun] > demand

demandc1290

postulate1588

postulatum1639

requisitive1751

the mind > attention and judgement > testing > attestation, witness, evidence > qualification > [noun] > reservation, proviso

conditionc1315

preveance?1316

purview1442

proviso1443

provision1450

saving1478

forprise1530

cautel1541

caveat1579

postulate1588

cautiona1593

non obstante1604

reservation1606

unless1606

reservancy1630

salvo1642

reserve1644

stipulation1792

reserver1807

get-out clause1912

clausula rebus sic stantibus1939

escape clause1945

1588 in J. L. Motley Hist. United Netherl. (1860) II. xviii. 397 Our postulates do trouble the King's commissioners very much, and do bring them to despair.

1656 T. Blount Glossographia Postulate, a request, demand or suit.

1660 Bp. J. Taylor Worthy Communicant i. iii. 56 This St. Peter calls the stipulation of a good conscience; the postulate and bargain which man then makes with God.

1706 B. Beale Ess. Discov. True Causes all Dis. 154 I may in Justice expect that it will not be look'd upon as a Criminal Postulate to demand a Liberty, now and then, to extract half an ounce of Blood in Cases, that are not absolutely Desperate.

1826 W. Scott Jrnl. 4 Feb. (1939) 90 Give me my popularity—an awful postulate!—and all my present difficulties shall be a joke in five years.

1860 J. L. Motley Hist. United Netherlands II. xviii. 397 The excellent Doctor had not even yet discovered that the King's commissioners were delighted with his postulates.

1950 Homiletic & Pastoral Rev. Sept. 1092–8 This argument is explicitly presented in the single postulate with 113 signatures.

II. A postulated proposition.

a. A fundamental principle, presupposition, or condition, esp. one assumed as the basis of a discipline or theory; (also) a proposition that is (or is claimed should be) taken as granted; esp. one (to be) used as a basis for reasoning or discussion, a premise.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > logic > logical reasoning > [noun] > deductivism or a priori reasoning > a principle or axiom

principlea1387

maximc1450

first principle1525

ground1528

principal1545

principium1550

protasis1572

theorem1588

postulate1590

axiom1593

groundsel1604

postulatuma1620

praecognitum1624

datum1646

self-evident1675

philosopheme1678

dictum of all and none1697

dictum of Aristotle1827

prius1882

ground rule1890

posit1900

1590 R. Harvey Theol. Disc. Lamb of God 121 This is the groundworke and postulate of Cartwrighttisme and Martinisme, without which all their doings are vndone.

1646 Sir T. Browne Pseudodoxia Epidemica i. vii. 25 Ipse dixit, or oportet discentem credere,..may be Postulates very accomodable unto Junior indoctrinations; yet are their authorities but temporary.

1646 Sir T. Browne Pseudodoxia Epidemica iii. vii. 120 This conceit was probably first begot by such as held the contrary opinion of sight by extramission,..and is the postulate of Euclide in his Opticks.

1653 tr. J. Stegmann Brevis Disq. in Phenix (1708) II. 332 The Monk's Postulate in the fifth Proposition of the second Chapter: ‘The Christian Faith excludes all doubting, and is certain and infallible’.

1702 J. Kimberley Serm. preach'd before Lower House Convocation 7 The World is yet a Stranger to any Perpetual Self-motion of Natural Bodies; and yet the Supposition of such a Motion is laid down by the same Author, as a Postulate from which is drawn the Necessity of a conserving Providence. [This] is first advanc'd as a self-evident Principle.

1715 tr. D. Gregory Elements Astron. I. i. §84. 195 Astronomers, (who..make it a Postulate, that any Star may be moved with any motion).

1860 B. F. Westcott Introd. Study Gospels (ed. 5) viii. 400 Christianity is essentially miraculous. This is a postulate of Biblical criticism.

1884 F. Temple Relations Relig. & Sci. (1885) i. 6 The Supreme Postulate, without which scientific knowledge is impossible, is the Uniformity of Nature.

1888 R. A. King Leal Lass II. iv. 63 Marry May he must—this was a postulate he would not go behind.

1907 J. R. Angell in Psychol. Rev. 14 62 The most lucid exposition of the structuralist position still remains..Titchener's paper, ‘The Postulates of a Structural Psychology’.

1962 L. Namier Crossroads of Power xvi. 182 Behind the chronic miscalculations loom unconscious moral postulates: that he who sows should reap, and that the worker is worthy of his hire.

1971 G. Steiner In Bluebeard's Castle iii. 64 We are forced now to return to an earlier, Pascalian pessimism, to a model of history whose logic derives from a postulate of original sin.

1994 P. Ormerod Death of Econ. (1995) v. 110 A recent study..showed..that people..are far more co-operative and less competitive than the postulates of economic theory assert rational individuals should be.

b. An unfounded or disputable unproved assumption; a hypothesis, a stipulation, an unproven theory.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > belief > speculation > hypothesis > [noun]

supposition1603

postulate1643

hypothesis1646

system1650

substration1830

1643 Sir T. Browne Religio Medici (authorized ed.) i. §22. 52 'Tis a postulate [printed Paradoxe; see Errata at sig. A7] to me, that Methusalem was the longest liv'd of all the children of Adam, and no man will bee able to prove it.

1646 Sir T. Browne Pseudodoxia Epidemica vi. vi. 296 Which wee shall labour to induce not from postulates and entreated Maximes, but undeniable principles declared in holy Scripture.

1751 S. Johnson Rambler No. 155. ⁋2 An opinion which, like innumerable other postulates, an enquirer finds himself inclined to admit upon very little evidence.

1837 H. Hallam Introd. Lit. Europe I. i. 25 And as their reasonings commonly rest on disputable postulates, the accuracy they affect is of no sort of value.

1841 R. W. Emerson Ess. 1st Ser. (Boston ed.) i. 29 All the postulates of elfin annals.

1935 C. J. Smith Intermediate Physics (ed. 2) v. 861 In this theory..no postulate is made as to whether the elementary magnets considered are individual molecules or molecular aggregates.

1984 A. Livingstone Lou Andreas-Salomé v. 84 We postulate God, learn that this was only a postulate, abandon it.

c. A proposition or assumption taken to be self-evident or obvious; an axiom.Not always clearly distinct from sense 2a.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > saying, maxim, adage > self-evident truth, axiom > [noun]

truth1500

maxim?1530

head assertion1531

maximum1563

maxima1564

axiom1578

self-evident1675

truism1714

postulate1751

1751 S. Johnson Rambler No. 158. ⁋1 Any settled principle or self-evident postulate.

1812 G. Chalmers Hist. View Domest. Econ. Great Brit. & Ireland 326 [They] had all taken it for granted, as a postulate, which could not be disputed, that a balance of trade, either favourable, or disadvantageous, enriched, or impoverished, every commercial country.

1814 J. Playfair Outl. Nat. Philos. II. i. App. 223 The postulate on which this rule proceeds is, that though each of the given equations is incorrect,..there is nothing that determines the errors to be on one side more than another, or in excess rather than defect.

1950 P. B. Kershner & L. R. Wilcox Anat. Math. vi. 64 They are referred to as the axioms or postulates of the theory.

1981 S. Ackroyd & J. A. Hughes Data Coll. in Context iii. 63 It is a..crucial postulate underpinning all the social sciences that individuals are related through associations..of various kinds.

3. Mathematics. A simple (esp. geometrical) operation whose possibility is self-evident or taken for granted, e.g. the drawing of a straight line between two points in space. Cf. axiom n. 3, petition n. 5.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > number > mathematics > [noun] > mathematical enquiry > proposition > self-evident or accepted without proof

petition1529

request1551

axiom1593

postulate1660

porime1702

postulatum1743

ansatz1936

1660 tr. I. Barrow Euclide's Elements i. 6 Postulates or Petitions. 1. From any point to any point to draw a right line... 3. Upon any centre, and at any distance, to describe a circle.

1704 J. Harris Lexicon Technicum I Postulates, or Demands in Mathematicks, &c. are such easie and self-evident Suppositions as need no Explication or Illustration to render them Intelligible.

1781 J. Williamson in tr. Euclid Elements I. Diss. v. 89 In the first two books our author considers the circle only as a mechanical instrument, and the use made of it, rests entirely upon the third postulate.

1814 D. Stewart tr. Wallis in Elem. Philos. Human Mind II. ii. §3. 162 According to some, the difference between axioms and postulates is analogous to that between theorems and problems; the former expressing truths which are self-evident, and from which other propositions may be deduced; the latter, operations which may be easily performed, and by the help of which more difficult constructions may be effected.

1825 ‘J. Nicholson’ Operative Mechanic 681 Postulates are things required to be granted true, before we proceed to demonstrate a proposition.

1827 O. Gregory Hutton's Course Math. (ed. 9) I. 3 A Postulate, or Petition, is something required to be done, which is so easy and evident that no person will hesitate to allow it.

1864 F. C. Bowen Treat. Logic xi. 374 An indemonstrable judgment, if theoretical, is called an Axiom; if practical, it is styled a Postulate.

1942 G. M. Merriman To discover Math. vi. 152 Historically the non-Euclidean geometries..arose from attempts to establish Euclid's parallel postulate as a theorem based on his other more acceptable assumptions.

1991 C. B. Boyer & U. C. Merzbach Hist. Math. (ed. 2) xxiii. 521 In the paper of 1829 he [sc. Lobachevsky] became the first mathematician to take the revolutionary step of publishing a geometry specifically built on an assumption in direct conflict with the parallel postulate: Through a point C lying outside a line AB there can be drawn more than one line in the plane and not meeting AB.

4. Something required as the necessary condition of some actual or supposed occurrence or state of things; a prerequisite. Now rare.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > will > necessity > condition of being necessary > [noun] > that which is necessary > prerequisite

condition1340

prerequisitea1631

necessary condition1651

prerequisition1651

postulate1707

precondition1825

1707 Answer Unitarians Objections from Reason against Doctr. Holy Trinity 25 This Measure of Modesty is a necessary Ingredient into that Probity of Spirit, which is a Postulate indispensibly requisite to understand the Christian Doctrine.

1841–8 F. Myers Catholic Thoughts II. iv. xxiii. 293 A Personal and Providential Deity—this is the necessary postulate of all Religion properly so called.

1860 M. F. Maury Physical Geogr. Sea (ed. 8) xix. §796 The low barometer, the revolving storm, and the ascending column require for a postulate the approach by spirals of the wind from circumference to centre.

1903 ‘O. Henry’ in Everybody's Mag. Feb. 174/1 A creature was ill and helpless; he had the power to render aid—these were the only postulates required for the cattleman to act.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

postulateadj.n.¹

Brit.

/ˈpɒstjᵿlət/,

/ˈpɒstʃᵿlət/, U.S.

/ˈpɑstʃələt/, Scottish English

/ˈpɔstələt/

Forms: late Middle English postulate, 1900s– postulate; Scottish pre-1700 posstelat, pre-1700 postolat, pre-1700 postulait, pre-1700 postulat, pre-1700 1700s– postulate, 1700s postalate.

Origin: A borrowing from Latin. Etymons: Latin postulātus, postulatus.

Etymology: As adjective < classical Latin postulātus, past participle of postulāre to demand (see postulate v.). As noun < post-classical Latin postulatus candidate for ecclesiastical office awaiting dispensation from an impediment (c1250, 1503, 1559 in British sources), earlier denoting a person who represents an answer to prayer (late 4th cent.), use as noun of classical Latin postulātus (see above). N.E.D. (1907) gives only the pronunciation (pǫ·stiŭlĕt) /ˈpɒstjʊlət/.

Christian Church. Chiefly Scottish. Now historical.

†A. adj.

1. Nominated by the monarch to a bishopric, abbacy, or other high ecclesiastical office. Obsolete (historical in later use).In early use, as past participle.

ΘΚΠ

society > faith > worship > benefice > advowson > [adjective] > one who is presented to benefice with

postulate1433

1433 in H. Nicolas Proc. & Ordinances Privy Council (1835) IV. 184 (MED) We..pray you hertely þat..ye wol at þis oure speciall prayer have oure said cousin specialy recomended & postulate into youre bisshop.

1452 in J. B. Sheppard Christ Church Lett. (1877) 18 (MED) At suche tyme as ye shal so procede to your said election, have the said moost Reverend Fadir singulierly recommended, doing him with oon voice to be postulate to the same.

1544 in J. Robertson Illustr. Topogr. & Antiq. Aberdeen & Banff (1847) II. 430 Ws Robert postulat abbot, priour, and convent of the abbay of Deir chepturlie gadderit [etc.].

1710 T. Ruddiman Life Douglas in G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneis (new ed.) 5 (note) One is said to be Postulate Bishop, who could not be canonically elected, but may through favour, and a dispensation of his superior, be admitted.

1788 in Sel. Poems William Dunbar p. xiii A person of the name of John..acted as an agent for the postulate bishop.

2. = postulated adj. Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > belief > supposition, surmise > taking for granted, presumption > [adjective]

presumptivec1443

presumed1545

presupposed1569

foretakena1586

supposed1587

postulated1646

receptary1646

postulate1664

posited1666

assumed1821

1664 S. Butler Hudibras: Second Pt. ii. i. 55 I'l prove that I have one: I mean, by postulate Illation.

B. n.¹

A candidate for ecclesiastical office awaiting papal approval of his nomination. Frequently (with capital initial) used as a title.Candidates nominated by the monarch for certain offices (esp. those of bishop or abbot) required the Pope's approval and his dispensation from any canonical impediment (such as the candidate's not being in orders, being under age, or holding other similar offices).

ΘΚΠ

society > faith > worship > benefice > advowson > [noun] > one who is presented to benefice with

postulate1497

presentee1576

donative1651

collatee1703

patronee1807

1497 in G. Neilson & H. Paton Acts Lords of Council Civil Causes (1918) II. 87 At the instance of our derrest bruder, James, Duc of Ross, Postulat of Sanctandros.

1514 Acta Dom. Concil. 21 Sept. The Lords ordains that a letter be written under the King's Signet requiring Gavin, Postulat of Arbroth, to deliver the keyis of the Grete Sele fra him.

1515 Acta Dom. Concil. 6 July XXVII. lf. 26 My Lord Gouernour shew that he was informit..that the said Postulat [sc. Gavin Douglas] was promovit to the Bishopry of Dunkeld be the King of Inglandis writings..the quhilk the said Postulat denyit that he knew anything off.

1566 in J. H. Burton Reg. Privy Council Scotl. (1877) 1st Ser. I. 463 James Erle of Mortoun..George Dowglas callit the Postulat, sone naturall to umquhile Archibald Erle of Angus..with diverse utheris..delaittit of the vyle and tressonabill slauchtir of umquhile David Riccio [etc.].

a1617 J. Melville Mem. Own Life (1827) 149 And George the postulat entrit in with him.

a1712 in W. Macfarlane Geneal. Coll. (1900) (Sc. Hist. Soc.) II. 11 Alexander Gordon Postalate of Galloway.

1755 in R. Keith Hist. Catal. Scotl. Bps. (1824) 146 He [sc. Bp. Foreman] was postulate of Moray in the year 1501.

1830 R. Chambers Life James I I. i. 20 George Douglas of Todholes..known by the epithet of the Postulate of Aberbrothwick.

1874 J. Small Poetic Wks. G. Douglas I. Pref. p. xii Although the Scottish kings had maintained their prerogative of appointing persons chosen by themselves to vacant Sees and Abbacies, the consent of the Pope was an indispensable form to complete an election. A person thus nominated was in the mean time entitled ‘Postulate’.

1931 Sir E. Parry Persecut. Mary Stewart xi. 157 George Douglas, the Postulate, was an ex-priest who lived on the rents of his benefices.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

postulatev.

Brit.

/ˈpɒstjᵿleɪt/,

/ˈpɒstʃᵿleɪt/, U.S.

/ˈpɑstʃəˌleɪt/

Origin: A borrowing from Latin. Etymons: Latin postulāt-, postulāre.

Etymology: < classical Latin postulāt-, past participial stem (compare -ate suffix³) of postulāre to demand, require, to claim, assert, to lay down as a fact, in post-classical Latin also to elect to an ecclesiastical office, especially when an impediment exists and dispensation is required (6th or 7th cent.; from 12th cent. in British sources), to plead as an advocate (9th cent.).For more detail on the use of post-classical Latin postulare in sense 1 see Du Cange s.v. Postulari. In sense 4 after post-classical Latin postulare (1572 translating ancient Greek αἰτεῖν in this sense); compare also post-classical Latin postulatum (see postulate n.²). N.E.D. (1907) gives only the pronunciation (pǫ·stiŭleⁱt) /ˈpɒstjʊleɪt/.

†1. transitive. Ecclesiastical Law. To ask legitimate ecclesiastical authority to admit (a nominee) by dispensation when a canonical impediment is supposed to exist; to seek (such sanction) from an authority, esp. the Pope. Hence: to nominate or elect to an ecclesiastical office or dignity, subject to the sanction of the superior authority. Obsolete (historical in later use).Cf. also postulate n.¹, postulation n. 1b.

ΘΚΠ

society > faith > worship > benefice > advowson > provide with advowson [verb (transitive)] > present to or provide with benefice > with ecclesiastical authority or dispensation

postulea1500

postulate1533

1533–4 Act 25 Hen. VIII c. 20 §1 No..person..to be named, elected, presented, or postulated to any archebyshopriche or bishopriche within this realme.

1619 A. Gardyne Lyf William Elphinstoun 5 in Theatre Sc. Worthies (1878) The channons, clerks, and all..Prayes, and for Pastor postulats, Ane Williame Elphinstoune.

1688 London Gaz. No. 2389/4 The most..Reverend Cardinal..was postulated by 13 of the 24 Canons.

1710 T. Ruddiman Life Douglas in G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneis (new ed.) 5 [On the death of the Bp. of Dunkeld, 15 January 1515] Andrew Stewart..Brother to the Earl of Athole, had got himself postulated Bishop, by such of the Chapter as were present.

1762 P. Murdoch tr. A. F. Büsching New Syst. Geogr. V. 619 From the year 1561, Princes of the electoral house of Saxony have been constantly postulated by the chapter as administrators of the bishopric.

1874 J. Small Poetic Wks. G. Douglas I. Pref. 16 Although Douglas was postulated to it [sc. Abbacy of Arbroath], and signed letters and papers under this designation [sc. Postulat of Arbroth] his nomination..was never completed.

1878 W. Stubbs Constit. Hist. (ed. 2) III. xix. 307 The chapter was then allowed to postulate the bishop of Bath.

1894 Law Mag. Nov. 11 Electing Magister Malgredius in disregard of the Canon, instead of postulating the Pontiff's permission to elect him.

†2. intransitive. Law. To plead as an advocate. Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > pleading > plead [verb (intransitive)] > plead as advocate

pleadc1300

to show lawc1390

postule1517

proposea1533

postulate1566

1566 W. Painter Palace of Pleasure I. xxvi. f. 50 In Athenes..a yonge man..beyng desirous to be an Orator, and a pleadyng aduocate, to the intent he might postulate, accordyng to the accustomed maner of Athenes in those daies: accorded [etc.].

†3. gen. To claim, request.

a. transitive. To demand, require, or claim (a thing). Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > speech > request > request or ask for [verb (transitive)] > demand

calla1300

yeiec1320

to ask account?c1450

to call for ——1479

demand1484

inquirea1513

expostulate1548

advocatea1575

to stand upon ——1577

postulate1605

to stand on ——1606

bespeak1677

to put (also place, call, etc.) in (or into) requisition1831

requisition1874

the mind > will > necessity > condition of being necessary > need or want > need [verb (transitive)] > require or demand

askOE

willa1225

requirec1425

crave1576

desire1577

exact1592

solicit1592

wish1600

postulate1605

expect1615

to look after ——a1616

seek1656

demand1748

1605 True Chron. Hist. King Leir i. sig. C3 A Prince perhaps might postulate my loue.

1651 N. Biggs Matæotechnia Medicinæ Praxeωs §282 This doth not postulate or require the Physitians consent.

1703 R. Neve City & Countrey Purchaser Ded. 4 These your extraordinary Favours..seem to Postulate from me..a Publick Recognition.

a1820 W. Tooke in N. Webster Amer. Dict. Eng. Lang. (1828) (at cited word) The Byzantine emperors appear to have exercised, or at least to have postulated a sort of paramount supremacy over this nation.

1865 J. S. Mill Exam. Hamilton's Philos. 437 Logic, therefore, postulates to express in words what is already in the thoughts.

b. intransitive. To make a request or stipulation. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > speech > request > make a request [verb (intransitive)]

yearnOE

ask1340

fand1340

frayne1377

seek1390

allegea1393

to make requestc1400

require?c1425

sue1440

thigc1480

solicit1509

petition1611

petitionate1625

postulate1754

the mind > attention and judgement > testing > attestation, witness, evidence > qualification > make conditions, stipulate [verb (intransitive)]

providea1450

conditiona1513

capitulate1537

to stand upon (or on) terms1565

conditionate1642

postulate1754

stipulate1790

1754 G. B. Dodington Diary 18 July (1784) 316 If he imagined that I would remain postulating among the common herd of suitors..—it was impossible.

1860 J. L. Motley Hist. United Netherlands II. xviii. 397 To have kept them postulating thus five months in succession..was one of the most decisive triumphs ever achieved by Spanish diplomacy.

1893 J. Fahey Hist. Kilmacduagh 438 He was..obliged in 1866 to postulate for a coadjutor.

4. transitive. To posit or assume (a proposition); to claim (explicitly or tacitly) the existence, fact, or truth of (a thing); to take for granted; to assume the possibility of (a process, operation, etc.); esp. to suggest, require, or assume as a basis for reasoning, discussion, or action. Hence, loosely: to put forward as a theory; to propose, hypothesize (something). Frequently with clause as object. (Now the usual sense.)

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > number > mathematics > calculate or solve [verb (transitive)] > postulate

postulate1705

the mind > mental capacity > belief > supposition, surmise > taking for granted, presumption > assume, presuppose [verb (transitive)] > as basis for argument

seta1340

supposec1350

posec1385

putc1390

to put (also set) the casec1405

suppositionc1449

demit1556

suppose1594

s'pose1632

case1647

feign1688

posit1697

postulate1705

1705 Eng. Euclide 36 Euclide here first tacitely presumes the putting of a point any where: or jointly with the drawing of a strait line he does also postulate the putting of a point, or points at pleasure.

1722 Philos. Trans. 1720–21 (Royal Soc.) 31 39 Because the higher Kinds [of curves] cannot be described but by means of the inferior Sorts, some of these must be postulated to describe those.

1817 S. T. Coleridge Biographia Literaria I. xii. 250 In geometry the primary construction is not demonstrated, but postulated.

1878 R. B. Smith Carthage 103 It postulated a skill in seamanship and a confidence in their own powers both of attack and defence.

1885 S. Cox Expos. xv. 186 Reason postulates God, though it cannot prove him.

1926 W. McDougall Introd. Social Psychol. (ed. 20) 417 Those who..imply that they can explain alleged instinctive behaviour by postulating in vague general terms a ‘reaction pattern’ in the nervous system [etc.].

1958 J. M. Argyle Relig. Behaviour xii. 143 This is clearly a ‘same-level’ explanation, postulating that religion is learnt by the same processes of socialization as are other attitudes and beliefs.

1995 Archaeol. Mag. July 2/1 He has conducted research in the caves of Europe, postulating that an awareness of time, seasons, and the processes of nature structured the Ice Age way of life.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

n.²1588

adj.n.¹1433

v.1533

单词	postulate
释义	postulaten.² Brit. /ˈpɒstjᵿlət/, /ˈpɒstʃᵿlət/, U.S. /ˈpɑstʃələt/ Origin: A borrowing from Latin. Etymon: Latin postulātum. Etymology: < classical Latin postulātum demand, petition, request (see postulatum n.), in post-classical Latin also in logic and in mathematics (see below), rendering ancient Greek αἴτημα (Aristotle, Euclid; compare earlier use of post-classical Latin petitio petition n. to render the same term). Compare Italian postulato (a1631), French postulat (1752 in geometry, 1842 in philosophy).In sense 2 after post-classical Latin postulatum (1584 in Pacius Aristotelis Organum; earlier as plural, postulata , in the Latin translation of Rhetorica ad Alexandrum by Philelphus (died 1489), printed 1523). In sense 3 after post-classical Latin postulatum (in plural, postulata, in Latin editions of Euclid, e.g. Zamberti 1537 and Commandinus 1572; also a1596 in geometriae postulata, plural, and 1620 in a British source). N.E.D. (1907) gives only the pronunciation (pǫ·stiŭlĕt) /ˈpɒstjʊlət/. I. Something asked for or demanded. 1. A demand, a request; spec. something stipulated as a condition of agreement. Cf. sense 4. Now rare. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > speech > request > [noun] > demand demandc1290 postulate1588 postulatum1639 requisitive1751 the mind > attention and judgement > testing > attestation, witness, evidence > qualification > [noun] > reservation, proviso conditionc1315 preveance?1316 purview1442 proviso1443 provision1450 saving1478 forprise1530 cautel1541 caveat1579 postulate1588 cautiona1593 non obstante1604 reservation1606 unless1606 reservancy1630 salvo1642 reserve1644 stipulation1792 reserver1807 get-out clause1912 clausula rebus sic stantibus1939 escape clause1945 1588 in J. L. Motley Hist. United Netherl. (1860) II. xviii. 397 Our postulates do trouble the King's commissioners very much, and do bring them to despair. 1656 T. Blount Glossographia Postulate, a request, demand or suit. 1660 Bp. J. Taylor Worthy Communicant i. iii. 56 This St. Peter calls the stipulation of a good conscience; the postulate and bargain which man then makes with God. 1706 B. Beale Ess. Discov. True Causes all Dis. 154 I may in Justice expect that it will not be look'd upon as a Criminal Postulate to demand a Liberty, now and then, to extract half an ounce of Blood in Cases, that are not absolutely Desperate. 1826 W. Scott Jrnl. 4 Feb. (1939) 90 Give me my popularity—an awful postulate!—and all my present difficulties shall be a joke in five years. 1860 J. L. Motley Hist. United Netherlands II. xviii. 397 The excellent Doctor had not even yet discovered that the King's commissioners were delighted with his postulates. 1950 Homiletic & Pastoral Rev. Sept. 1092–8 This argument is explicitly presented in the single postulate with 113 signatures. II. A postulated proposition. 2. a. A fundamental principle, presupposition, or condition, esp. one assumed as the basis of a discipline or theory; (also) a proposition that is (or is claimed should be) taken as granted; esp. one (to be) used as a basis for reasoning or discussion, a premise. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > logic > logical reasoning > [noun] > deductivism or a priori reasoning > a principle or axiom principlea1387 maximc1450 first principle1525 ground1528 principal1545 principium1550 protasis1572 theorem1588 postulate1590 axiom1593 groundsel1604 postulatuma1620 praecognitum1624 datum1646 self-evident1675 philosopheme1678 dictum of all and none1697 dictum of Aristotle1827 prius1882 ground rule1890 posit1900 1590 R. Harvey Theol. Disc. Lamb of God 121 This is the groundworke and postulate of Cartwrighttisme and Martinisme, without which all their doings are vndone. 1646 Sir T. Browne Pseudodoxia Epidemica i. vii. 25 Ipse dixit, or oportet discentem credere,..may be Postulates very accomodable unto Junior indoctrinations; yet are their authorities but temporary. View more context for this quotation 1646 Sir T. Browne Pseudodoxia Epidemica iii. vii. 120 This conceit was probably first begot by such as held the contrary opinion of sight by extramission,..and is the postulate of Euclide in his Opticks. 1653 tr. J. Stegmann Brevis Disq. in Phenix (1708) II. 332 The Monk's Postulate in the fifth Proposition of the second Chapter: ‘The Christian Faith excludes all doubting, and is certain and infallible’. 1702 J. Kimberley Serm. preach'd before Lower House Convocation 7 The World is yet a Stranger to any Perpetual Self-motion of Natural Bodies; and yet the Supposition of such a Motion is laid down by the same Author, as a Postulate from which is drawn the Necessity of a conserving Providence. [This] is first advanc'd as a self-evident Principle. 1715 tr. D. Gregory Elements Astron. I. i. §84. 195 Astronomers, (who..make it a Postulate, that any Star may be moved with any motion). 1860 B. F. Westcott Introd. Study Gospels (ed. 5) viii. 400 Christianity is essentially miraculous. This is a postulate of Biblical criticism. 1884 F. Temple Relations Relig. & Sci. (1885) i. 6 The Supreme Postulate, without which scientific knowledge is impossible, is the Uniformity of Nature. 1888 R. A. King Leal Lass II. iv. 63 Marry May he must—this was a postulate he would not go behind. 1907 J. R. Angell in Psychol. Rev. 14 62 The most lucid exposition of the structuralist position still remains..Titchener's paper, ‘The Postulates of a Structural Psychology’. 1962 L. Namier Crossroads of Power xvi. 182 Behind the chronic miscalculations loom unconscious moral postulates: that he who sows should reap, and that the worker is worthy of his hire. 1971 G. Steiner In Bluebeard's Castle iii. 64 We are forced now to return to an earlier, Pascalian pessimism, to a model of history whose logic derives from a postulate of original sin. 1994 P. Ormerod Death of Econ. (1995) v. 110 A recent study..showed..that people..are far more co-operative and less competitive than the postulates of economic theory assert rational individuals should be. b. An unfounded or disputable unproved assumption; a hypothesis, a stipulation, an unproven theory. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > belief > speculation > hypothesis > [noun] supposition1603 postulate1643 hypothesis1646 system1650 substration1830 1643 Sir T. Browne Religio Medici (authorized ed.) i. §22. 52 'Tis a postulate [printed Paradoxe; see Errata at sig. A7] to me, that Methusalem was the longest liv'd of all the children of Adam, and no man will bee able to prove it. View more context for this quotation 1646 Sir T. Browne Pseudodoxia Epidemica vi. vi. 296 Which wee shall labour to induce not from postulates and entreated Maximes, but undeniable principles declared in holy Scripture. View more context for this quotation 1751 S. Johnson Rambler No. 155. ⁋2 An opinion which, like innumerable other postulates, an enquirer finds himself inclined to admit upon very little evidence. 1837 H. Hallam Introd. Lit. Europe I. i. 25 And as their reasonings commonly rest on disputable postulates, the accuracy they affect is of no sort of value. 1841 R. W. Emerson Ess. 1st Ser. (Boston ed.) i. 29 All the postulates of elfin annals. 1935 C. J. Smith Intermediate Physics (ed. 2) v. 861 In this theory..no postulate is made as to whether the elementary magnets considered are individual molecules or molecular aggregates. 1984 A. Livingstone Lou Andreas-Salomé v. 84 We postulate God, learn that this was only a postulate, abandon it. c. A proposition or assumption taken to be self-evident or obvious; an axiom.Not always clearly distinct from sense 2a. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > saying, maxim, adage > self-evident truth, axiom > [noun] truth1500 maxim?1530 head assertion1531 maximum1563 maxima1564 axiom1578 self-evident1675 truism1714 postulate1751 1751 S. Johnson Rambler No. 158. ⁋1 Any settled principle or self-evident postulate. 1812 G. Chalmers Hist. View Domest. Econ. Great Brit. & Ireland 326 [They] had all taken it for granted, as a postulate, which could not be disputed, that a balance of trade, either favourable, or disadvantageous, enriched, or impoverished, every commercial country. 1814 J. Playfair Outl. Nat. Philos. II. i. App. 223 The postulate on which this rule proceeds is, that though each of the given equations is incorrect,..there is nothing that determines the errors to be on one side more than another, or in excess rather than defect. 1950 P. B. Kershner & L. R. Wilcox Anat. Math. vi. 64 They are referred to as the axioms or postulates of the theory. 1981 S. Ackroyd & J. A. Hughes Data Coll. in Context iii. 63 It is a..crucial postulate underpinning all the social sciences that individuals are related through associations..of various kinds. 3. Mathematics. A simple (esp. geometrical) operation whose possibility is self-evident or taken for granted, e.g. the drawing of a straight line between two points in space. Cf. axiom n. 3, petition n. 5. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > number > mathematics > [noun] > mathematical enquiry > proposition > self-evident or accepted without proof petition1529 request1551 axiom1593 postulate1660 porime1702 postulatum1743 ansatz1936 1660 tr. I. Barrow Euclide's Elements i. 6 Postulates or Petitions. 1. From any point to any point to draw a right line... 3. Upon any centre, and at any distance, to describe a circle. 1704 J. Harris Lexicon Technicum I Postulates, or Demands in Mathematicks, &c. are such easie and self-evident Suppositions as need no Explication or Illustration to render them Intelligible. 1781 J. Williamson in tr. Euclid Elements I. Diss. v. 89 In the first two books our author considers the circle only as a mechanical instrument, and the use made of it, rests entirely upon the third postulate. 1814 D. Stewart tr. Wallis in Elem. Philos. Human Mind II. ii. §3. 162 According to some, the difference between axioms and postulates is analogous to that between theorems and problems; the former expressing truths which are self-evident, and from which other propositions may be deduced; the latter, operations which may be easily performed, and by the help of which more difficult constructions may be effected. 1825 ‘J. Nicholson’ Operative Mechanic 681 Postulates are things required to be granted true, before we proceed to demonstrate a proposition. 1827 O. Gregory Hutton's Course Math. (ed. 9) I. 3 A Postulate, or Petition, is something required to be done, which is so easy and evident that no person will hesitate to allow it. 1864 F. C. Bowen Treat. Logic xi. 374 An indemonstrable judgment, if theoretical, is called an Axiom; if practical, it is styled a Postulate. 1942 G. M. Merriman To discover Math. vi. 152 Historically the non-Euclidean geometries..arose from attempts to establish Euclid's parallel postulate as a theorem based on his other more acceptable assumptions. 1991 C. B. Boyer & U. C. Merzbach Hist. Math. (ed. 2) xxiii. 521 In the paper of 1829 he [sc. Lobachevsky] became the first mathematician to take the revolutionary step of publishing a geometry specifically built on an assumption in direct conflict with the parallel postulate: Through a point C lying outside a line AB there can be drawn more than one line in the plane and not meeting AB. 4. Something required as the necessary condition of some actual or supposed occurrence or state of things; a prerequisite. Now rare. ΘΚΠ the mind > will > necessity > condition of being necessary > [noun] > that which is necessary > prerequisite condition1340 prerequisitea1631 necessary condition1651 prerequisition1651 postulate1707 precondition1825 1707 Answer Unitarians Objections from Reason against Doctr. Holy Trinity 25 This Measure of Modesty is a necessary Ingredient into that Probity of Spirit, which is a Postulate indispensibly requisite to understand the Christian Doctrine. 1841–8 F. Myers Catholic Thoughts II. iv. xxiii. 293 A Personal and Providential Deity—this is the necessary postulate of all Religion properly so called. 1860 M. F. Maury Physical Geogr. Sea (ed. 8) xix. §796 The low barometer, the revolving storm, and the ascending column require for a postulate the approach by spirals of the wind from circumference to centre. 1903 ‘O. Henry’ in Everybody's Mag. Feb. 174/1 A creature was ill and helpless; he had the power to render aid—these were the only postulates required for the cattleman to act. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022). postulateadj.n.¹ Brit. /ˈpɒstjᵿlət/, /ˈpɒstʃᵿlət/, U.S. /ˈpɑstʃələt/, Scottish English /ˈpɔstələt/ Forms: late Middle English postulate, 1900s– postulate; Scottish pre-1700 posstelat, pre-1700 postolat, pre-1700 postulait, pre-1700 postulat, pre-1700 1700s– postulate, 1700s postalate. Origin: A borrowing from Latin. Etymons: Latin postulātus, postulatus. Etymology: As adjective < classical Latin postulātus, past participle of postulāre to demand (see postulate v.). As noun < post-classical Latin postulatus candidate for ecclesiastical office awaiting dispensation from an impediment (c1250, 1503, 1559 in British sources), earlier denoting a person who represents an answer to prayer (late 4th cent.), use as noun of classical Latin postulātus (see above). N.E.D. (1907) gives only the pronunciation (pǫ·stiŭlĕt) /ˈpɒstjʊlət/. Christian Church. Chiefly Scottish. Now historical. †A. adj. 1. Nominated by the monarch to a bishopric, abbacy, or other high ecclesiastical office. Obsolete (historical in later use).In early use, as past participle. ΘΚΠ society > faith > worship > benefice > advowson > [adjective] > one who is presented to benefice with postulate1433 1433 in H. Nicolas Proc. & Ordinances Privy Council (1835) IV. 184 (MED) We..pray you hertely þat..ye wol at þis oure speciall prayer have oure said cousin specialy recomended & postulate into youre bisshop. 1452 in J. B. Sheppard Christ Church Lett. (1877) 18 (MED) At suche tyme as ye shal so procede to your said election, have the said moost Reverend Fadir singulierly recommended, doing him with oon voice to be postulate to the same. 1544 in J. Robertson Illustr. Topogr. & Antiq. Aberdeen & Banff (1847) II. 430 Ws Robert postulat abbot, priour, and convent of the abbay of Deir chepturlie gadderit [etc.]. 1710 T. Ruddiman Life Douglas in G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneis (new ed.) 5 (note) One is said to be Postulate Bishop, who could not be canonically elected, but may through favour, and a dispensation of his superior, be admitted. 1788 in Sel. Poems William Dunbar p. xiii A person of the name of John..acted as an agent for the postulate bishop. 2. = postulated adj. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > belief > supposition, surmise > taking for granted, presumption > [adjective] presumptivec1443 presumed1545 presupposed1569 foretakena1586 supposed1587 postulated1646 receptary1646 postulate1664 posited1666 assumed1821 1664 S. Butler Hudibras: Second Pt. ii. i. 55 I'l prove that I have one: I mean, by postulate Illation. B. n.¹ A candidate for ecclesiastical office awaiting papal approval of his nomination. Frequently (with capital initial) used as a title.Candidates nominated by the monarch for certain offices (esp. those of bishop or abbot) required the Pope's approval and his dispensation from any canonical impediment (such as the candidate's not being in orders, being under age, or holding other similar offices). ΘΚΠ society > faith > worship > benefice > advowson > [noun] > one who is presented to benefice with postulate1497 presentee1576 donative1651 collatee1703 patronee1807 1497 in G. Neilson & H. Paton Acts Lords of Council Civil Causes (1918) II. 87 At the instance of our derrest bruder, James, Duc of Ross, Postulat of Sanctandros. 1514 Acta Dom. Concil. 21 Sept. The Lords ordains that a letter be written under the King's Signet requiring Gavin, Postulat of Arbroth, to deliver the keyis of the Grete Sele fra him. 1515 Acta Dom. Concil. 6 July XXVII. lf. 26 My Lord Gouernour shew that he was informit..that the said Postulat [sc. Gavin Douglas] was promovit to the Bishopry of Dunkeld be the King of Inglandis writings..the quhilk the said Postulat denyit that he knew anything off. 1566 in J. H. Burton Reg. Privy Council Scotl. (1877) 1st Ser. I. 463 James Erle of Mortoun..George Dowglas callit the Postulat, sone naturall to umquhile Archibald Erle of Angus..with diverse utheris..delaittit of the vyle and tressonabill slauchtir of umquhile David Riccio [etc.]. a1617 J. Melville Mem. Own Life (1827) 149 And George the postulat entrit in with him. a1712 in W. Macfarlane Geneal. Coll. (1900) (Sc. Hist. Soc.) II. 11 Alexander Gordon Postalate of Galloway. 1755 in R. Keith Hist. Catal. Scotl. Bps. (1824) 146 He [sc. Bp. Foreman] was postulate of Moray in the year 1501. 1830 R. Chambers Life James I I. i. 20 George Douglas of Todholes..known by the epithet of the Postulate of Aberbrothwick. 1874 J. Small Poetic Wks. G. Douglas I. Pref. p. xii Although the Scottish kings had maintained their prerogative of appointing persons chosen by themselves to vacant Sees and Abbacies, the consent of the Pope was an indispensable form to complete an election. A person thus nominated was in the mean time entitled ‘Postulate’. 1931 Sir E. Parry Persecut. Mary Stewart xi. 157 George Douglas, the Postulate, was an ex-priest who lived on the rents of his benefices. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022). postulatev. Brit. /ˈpɒstjᵿleɪt/, /ˈpɒstʃᵿleɪt/, U.S. /ˈpɑstʃəˌleɪt/ Origin: A borrowing from Latin. Etymons: Latin postulāt-, postulāre. Etymology: < classical Latin postulāt-, past participial stem (compare -ate suffix³) of postulāre to demand, require, to claim, assert, to lay down as a fact, in post-classical Latin also to elect to an ecclesiastical office, especially when an impediment exists and dispensation is required (6th or 7th cent.; from 12th cent. in British sources), to plead as an advocate (9th cent.).For more detail on the use of post-classical Latin postulare in sense 1 see Du Cange s.v. Postulari. In sense 4 after post-classical Latin postulare (1572 translating ancient Greek αἰτεῖν in this sense); compare also post-classical Latin postulatum (see postulate n.²). N.E.D. (1907) gives only the pronunciation (pǫ·stiŭleⁱt) /ˈpɒstjʊleɪt/. †1. transitive. Ecclesiastical Law. To ask legitimate ecclesiastical authority to admit (a nominee) by dispensation when a canonical impediment is supposed to exist; to seek (such sanction) from an authority, esp. the Pope. Hence: to nominate or elect to an ecclesiastical office or dignity, subject to the sanction of the superior authority. Obsolete (historical in later use).Cf. also postulate n.¹, postulation n. 1b. ΘΚΠ society > faith > worship > benefice > advowson > provide with advowson [verb (transitive)] > present to or provide with benefice > with ecclesiastical authority or dispensation postulea1500 postulate1533 1533–4 Act 25 Hen. VIII c. 20 §1 No..person..to be named, elected, presented, or postulated to any archebyshopriche or bishopriche within this realme. 1619 A. Gardyne Lyf William Elphinstoun 5 in Theatre Sc. Worthies (1878) The channons, clerks, and all..Prayes, and for Pastor postulats, Ane Williame Elphinstoune. 1688 London Gaz. No. 2389/4 The most..Reverend Cardinal..was postulated by 13 of the 24 Canons. 1710 T. Ruddiman Life Douglas in G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneis (new ed.) 5 [On the death of the Bp. of Dunkeld, 15 January 1515] Andrew Stewart..Brother to the Earl of Athole, had got himself postulated Bishop, by such of the Chapter as were present. 1762 P. Murdoch tr. A. F. Büsching New Syst. Geogr. V. 619 From the year 1561, Princes of the electoral house of Saxony have been constantly postulated by the chapter as administrators of the bishopric. 1874 J. Small Poetic Wks. G. Douglas I. Pref. 16 Although Douglas was postulated to it [sc. Abbacy of Arbroath], and signed letters and papers under this designation [sc. Postulat of Arbroth] his nomination..was never completed. 1878 W. Stubbs Constit. Hist. (ed. 2) III. xix. 307 The chapter was then allowed to postulate the bishop of Bath. 1894 Law Mag. Nov. 11 Electing Magister Malgredius in disregard of the Canon, instead of postulating the Pontiff's permission to elect him. †2. intransitive. Law. To plead as an advocate. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > pleading > plead [verb (intransitive)] > plead as advocate pleadc1300 to show lawc1390 postule1517 proposea1533 postulate1566 1566 W. Painter Palace of Pleasure I. xxvi. f. 50 In Athenes..a yonge man..beyng desirous to be an Orator, and a pleadyng aduocate, to the intent he might postulate, accordyng to the accustomed maner of Athenes in those daies: accorded [etc.]. †3. gen. To claim, request. a. transitive. To demand, require, or claim (a thing). Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > speech > request > request or ask for [verb (transitive)] > demand calla1300 yeiec1320 to ask account?c1450 to call for ——1479 demand1484 inquirea1513 expostulate1548 advocatea1575 to stand upon ——1577 postulate1605 to stand on ——1606 bespeak1677 to put (also place, call, etc.) in (or into) requisition1831 requisition1874 the mind > will > necessity > condition of being necessary > need or want > need [verb (transitive)] > require or demand askOE willa1225 requirec1425 crave1576 desire1577 exact1592 solicit1592 wish1600 postulate1605 expect1615 to look after ——a1616 seek1656 demand1748 1605 True Chron. Hist. King Leir i. sig. C3 A Prince perhaps might postulate my loue. 1651 N. Biggs Matæotechnia Medicinæ Praxeωs §282 This doth not postulate or require the Physitians consent. 1703 R. Neve City & Countrey Purchaser Ded. 4 These your extraordinary Favours..seem to Postulate from me..a Publick Recognition. a1820 W. Tooke in N. Webster Amer. Dict. Eng. Lang. (1828) (at cited word) The Byzantine emperors appear to have exercised, or at least to have postulated a sort of paramount supremacy over this nation. 1865 J. S. Mill Exam. Hamilton's Philos. 437 Logic, therefore, postulates to express in words what is already in the thoughts. b. intransitive. To make a request or stipulation. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > speech > request > make a request [verb (intransitive)] yearnOE ask1340 fand1340 frayne1377 seek1390 allegea1393 to make requestc1400 require?c1425 sue1440 thigc1480 solicit1509 petition1611 petitionate1625 postulate1754 the mind > attention and judgement > testing > attestation, witness, evidence > qualification > make conditions, stipulate [verb (intransitive)] providea1450 conditiona1513 capitulate1537 to stand upon (or on) terms1565 conditionate1642 postulate1754 stipulate1790 1754 G. B. Dodington Diary 18 July (1784) 316 If he imagined that I would remain postulating among the common herd of suitors..—it was impossible. 1860 J. L. Motley Hist. United Netherlands II. xviii. 397 To have kept them postulating thus five months in succession..was one of the most decisive triumphs ever achieved by Spanish diplomacy. 1893 J. Fahey Hist. Kilmacduagh 438 He was..obliged in 1866 to postulate for a coadjutor. 4. transitive. To posit or assume (a proposition); to claim (explicitly or tacitly) the existence, fact, or truth of (a thing); to take for granted; to assume the possibility of (a process, operation, etc.); esp. to suggest, require, or assume as a basis for reasoning, discussion, or action. Hence, loosely: to put forward as a theory; to propose, hypothesize (something). Frequently with clause as object. (Now the usual sense.) ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > number > mathematics > calculate or solve [verb (transitive)] > postulate postulate1705 the mind > mental capacity > belief > supposition, surmise > taking for granted, presumption > assume, presuppose [verb (transitive)] > as basis for argument seta1340 supposec1350 posec1385 putc1390 to put (also set) the casec1405 suppositionc1449 demit1556 suppose1594 s'pose1632 case1647 feign1688 posit1697 postulate1705 1705 Eng. Euclide 36 Euclide here first tacitely presumes the putting of a point any where: or jointly with the drawing of a strait line he does also postulate the putting of a point, or points at pleasure. 1722 Philos. Trans. 1720–21 (Royal Soc.) 31 39 Because the higher Kinds [of curves] cannot be described but by means of the inferior Sorts, some of these must be postulated to describe those. 1817 S. T. Coleridge Biographia Literaria I. xii. 250 In geometry the primary construction is not demonstrated, but postulated. 1878 R. B. Smith Carthage 103 It postulated a skill in seamanship and a confidence in their own powers both of attack and defence. 1885 S. Cox Expos. xv. 186 Reason postulates God, though it cannot prove him. 1926 W. McDougall Introd. Social Psychol. (ed. 20) 417 Those who..imply that they can explain alleged instinctive behaviour by postulating in vague general terms a ‘reaction pattern’ in the nervous system [etc.]. 1958 J. M. Argyle Relig. Behaviour xii. 143 This is clearly a ‘same-level’ explanation, postulating that religion is learnt by the same processes of socialization as are other attitudes and beliefs. 1995 Archaeol. Mag. July 2/1 He has conducted research in the caves of Europe, postulating that an awareness of time, seasons, and the processes of nature structured the Ice Age way of life. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < n.²1588adj.n.¹1433v.1533
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postulaten.2

postulateadj.n.1

postulatev.

postulaten.²

postulateadj.n.¹