supposev.

Brit.

/səˈpəʊz/, U.S.

/səˈpoʊz/

Forms: Middle English sopos, Middle English soposse, Middle English suppois, Middle English suppos, Middle English supposse, Middle English suppoyse, Middle English svppose, Middle English 1600s sopose, Middle English–1600s soppose, Middle English–1600s supose, Middle English– suppose, 1500s subpose, 1500s–1600s sopose, 1500s–1600s suppoose, 1600s suppost, 1600s suppoze, 1800s suppoase (English regional (Lincolnshire)); Scottish pre-1700 supois, pre-1700 supos, pre-1700 supose, pre-1700 suppois, pre-1700 suppoise, pre-1700 suppoiss, pre-1700 suppos, pre-1700 supposz, pre-1700 suppoys, pre-1700 1700s– suppose.

Origin: A borrowing from French. Etymon: French supposer.

Etymology: < Anglo-Norman and Old French, Middle French suposer, supposer (French supposer ) to place below (mid 12th cent. in Anglo-Norman), to presume, conjecture (1280), to assume that (a proposition) is likely or true, to propose (something) as a hypothesis (both 14th cent.), (in law) to allege (mid 14th cent. in Anglo-Norman, or earlier), to require as a necessary condition (1370), to substitute, replace (one thing or person with another) (late 15th cent.), to present (something fake) as genuine (1538) < sup- sub- prefix + poser pose v.¹, after classical Latin suppōnere suppone v.; compare similarly propose v., prepose v. Compare Old Occitan supausar (15th cent. in an isolated attestation). Compare suppone v.In rapid speech, frequently with pronunciation Brit.

/spəʊz/, U.S.

/spoʊz/: compare s'pose v. The British English pronunciation of the past tense in sense 13 is sometimes /səˈpəʊst/ by assimilation of the final consonants to the initial t of to.

I. Senses involving mental action. Cf. supposition n. I.

* General uses.

1. To assume (without reference to truth or falsehood) as a basis of argument, or for the purpose of tracing consequences; to frame as a hypothesis; to put as an imaginary case; to posit. See also branches I.**, I.***.

a. transitive. With object clause.

ΘΚΠ

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

supposec1350

presumec1390

take1429

presupposec1443

takec1449

presupponec1475

supponea1513

subsume1562

foreprise1577

to take for granted1615

to give for granted1637

assume1660

foretake1674

premisea1706

predicate1718

dare say1749

pre-assume1789

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

c1350 (a1333) William of Shoreham Poems (1902) 145 Suppose here hijs [= is] o iustyse, God and truwe.

c1400 J. Wyclif Eng. Wks. (1880) 284 Here we schal suppose as Cristen mennes bileue, þat god is cheef lord.

a1450 in J. Kail 26 Polit. Poems (1904) 106 I suppose þe prest haue but on ost, Breke it, and parte to twenty and mo: As moche is þe leste cost As in þe grettest pece of þo.

1566 J. Knox Serm. sig. H.j^v Let vs suppose that in no sorte we did consent with those oppressions, but that we opponed our selues vnto them to the vttermoste of our powers.

1718 Occas. Paper III. No. 3 18 I will give you that which indeed you have no right to; and suppose, for Argument sake, that the blessed Jesus did join with the Jews in their Liturgy; and proceed to examine the two Inferences you draw from it.

1746 P. Francis & W. Dunkin tr. Horace Satires ii. iii. 221 Let us suppose you heard An able doctor [etc.].

1823 Edinb. Ann. Reg. 1821 14 i. 181/1 But let us suppose, for the sake of argument, that these questions are objectionable.

1875 W. S. Jevons Money (1878) 254 As a second case, let us suppose that there is a town which is able to support two banks.

1906 A. E. H. Love Treat. Math. Theory Elasticity (ed. 2) i. 33 We suppose that the axis of x is the direction in which contraction takes place.

2003 A. F. Alford Pyramid of Secrets iv. 147 Let us now take a different approach to the problem... Let us suppose, as some Egyptologists have suggested, that the Grotto was a sacred site for centuries before the Pyramid was built.

b. transitive. With other constructions, esp. object and complement, simple object, or object and infinitive.

ΘΚΠ

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

1594 W. Clerke Triall of Bastardie v. 46 I can name my selfe, my mistris (you must suppose her a wyddowe) or her mayde.

1697 tr. F. Burgersdijck Monitio Logica ii. ix. 42 Suppose Aristotle, or the like instead of Man, and make an Expository Syllogism, with it.

1697 tr. F. Burgersdijck Monitio Logica ii. xvii. 72 First, supposing the Species, you suppose also the Genus.

1726 J. Swift Horace, Ode i. xiv. 7 Let me suppose thee for a ship a-while, And thus address thee in the sailor's style.

1729 W. Law Serious Call x. 143 Now do but suppose a man acting unreasonably; do but suppose him extinguishing his reason.

1749 D. Hartley Observ. Man i. i. §2. 60 Let us suppose the first Object to impress the Vibrations A, and then to be removed.

1815 W. Scott Guy Mannering I. xvi. 262 Which..might..do more harm than good in the case supposed.

1819 Ld. Byron Don Juan: Canto I lxxxv. 45 I only say suppose this supposition.

1823 H. J. Brooke Familiar Introd. Crystallogr. 157 If we suppose the octahedron to be placed with its axis horizontally.

1835 J. Young Lect. Intell. Philos. xxvii. 273 There is a great difference..between supposing an absurdity and conceiving it.

1889 O. Fisher Physics Earth's Crust (ed. 2) xx. 268 The closeness of the folds of a crumpled rock, formed as supposed, would depend upon [etc.].

1929 R. H. Dotterer Philos. by Way of Sci. i. iii. 70 The material universe would then be losing energy constantly; and unless we suppose it to be finite also in point of time, it would long, long ago have become cold, dark, and lifeless.

1973 A. C. Danto Analyt. Philos. Action vii. 192 We had, in our discussions of belief, to suppose it possible in fact that a man should believe as an action, but only incoherent for him to believe that he had done so.

2006 H. Sakai & M. Nakata in S. Greco et al. Rough Sets & Current Trends in Computing 271 Let us suppose the same condition as in Proposition 5.

†2.

a. transitive. To have in mind or as an object of thought or speculation; to think of, conceive, imagine; (contextually) †to suspect the genuineness or truth of (obsolete). With simple object, object clause, object and infinitive, or object and complement. Obsolete.The stative equivalent of sense 5.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > belief > supposition, surmise > suppose, surmise [verb (transitive)]

ween971

readOE

aweena1275

guessc1380

supposec1384

seemc1386

imaginec1405

presupposec1443

deem1470

surmise1509

suspectc1550

doubt1568

expect1592

s'pose1632

fancy1672

sus1958

the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > lack of confidence, distrust, suspicion > mistrust, suspect [verb (transitive)]

mistrowOE

overtrowa1225

ortrow?c1225

susposea1325

souchec1325

supposec1384

mistrestc1415

mistrusta1425

mistraista1450

suspecta1500

mistrust1565

misdoubt1570

surmisec1571

fear1578

diffide1583

doubt1586

uncredit1615

disdoubt1659

jealouse1682

jalouse1816

suspicion1834

sus1953

the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of ideation > conceive, form in the mind [verb (transitive)]

readOE

thinkOE

bethinkc1175

makea1400

imaginec1400

conceive?a1425

suppose1586

conceit1591

ideate1610

braina1616

forma1616

engross1632

cogitate1856

conceptualize1873

c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) 2 Macc. iii. 32 Lest..the kyng supposide [L. suspicaretur] eny malice of Jewis..done aȝeinus Helyodore.

c1390 Pistel of Swete Susan (Vernon) l. 216 (MED) Þe semblaunt of susan wolde non suppose.

a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) vi. l. 2107 (MED) The queene tolde him al the cas, As sche that guile non supposeth.

1586 A. Day Eng. Secretorie i. sig. K1 You must suppose and harpe vppon the end that must succeede vnto your trauaile.

1594 W. Shakespeare Lucrece sig. B4 When great treasure is the meede proposed, Though death be adiunct, ther's no death supposed .

a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry V (1623) iii. 0. 3 Suppose, that you haue seene The..King at Douer Peer, Embarke his Royaltie.

b. transitive. To attribute (something) to. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > existence > intrinsicality or inherence > inhere in or be an attribute of [verb (transitive)] > attribute or ascribe as an attribute > to a person

reputea1425

supposea1450

threaten1555

to threap (something) upon1559

to pin one's faith (also hope, etc.) on (also to) a person's sleeve1583

intend1615

a1450 (?a1300) Richard Coer de Lyon (Caius) (1810) l. 1725 Thou art mys-tought, To have on me swylk a thought,..And swylke a tresoun to me sopos.

1614 J. Selden Titles of Honor 155 The ancientest Scepter among the Graecians must forsooth be suppos'd to Iupiter.

1658 J. Durham Comm. Bk. Revelation ii. 135 These graces which are expressed by the passion, as fear, love, joy, &c. are not so certainly to be tried by the passion that is in them, as by the will that is contained in them or supposed to them.

c. transitive. To suspect (a person) of a crime or dishonourable act. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > lack of confidence, distrust, suspicion > mistrust, suspect [verb (transitive)] > someone

suppose1556

misdoubt1599

1556 J. Heywood Spider & Flie xxx. sig. B I muste (quoth the flie) se sum token stronger. Ere I can suppose you of that mistery.

1684 J. Evelyn Diary (1955) IV. 366 Then were..Tried and..fin'd Mr. Hambden & others, for being supposed of the late Plot.

3. To hold as a belief or opinion; to believe in the truth of; to think, be of the opinion.

†a. transitive. With object clause. Obsolete.In an impersonal construction in quot. a1387.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > belief > expressed belief, opinion > hold an opinion [verb (transitive)]

ween971

holda1300

believec1325

judgec1325

feelc1380

supposea1387

conceivea1425

take1429

opinea1475

thinkc1480

supponea1500

esteem1507

opinion1555

intend?1577

meditate1585

opinionate1599

opiniate1624

arbitrate1637

apprehend1639

state1671

calculate1805

consider1830

fink1888

a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1865) I. 249 (MED) Somtyme in Rome fader and moder schulde nouȝt norische and teche hire owne children, for me supposed [L. praesumebatur] þat he wolde be to tendre of hem.

a1425 (a1400) Prick of Conscience (Galba & Harl.) (1863) l. 3776 We shuld trow, and suppose ay Þat alle er save..Þat we se here gude werkes wirk, And has þe sacramentes of halikyrk.

?a1425 Mandeville's Trav. (Egerton) (1889) 57 (MED) Lamech slew Cayn with ane arowe supposing he had bene a wylde beste.

?a1450 (?c1400) Comm. Ave Maria (Lamb.) in Lay Folks' Catech. (1901) 11 Aue Maria. Men gretyþ comunly oure lady..And we suppose þat þis gretynge sauys many a man.

a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll.) 326 ‘Hit semeth’..seyde kynge Arthure, ‘that ye know his name and frome whens he com.’ ‘I suppose I do so,’ seyde sir Launcelot, ‘or ellys I wolde not have yeffyn hym the hyghe Order of Knyghthode’.

1509 J. Fisher Mornynge Remembraunce Countesse of Rychemonde (de Worde) sig. Avi Suppose not ye..she wolde..as feruently haue mynystred vnto hym as euer dyde Martha.

1526 Bible (Tyndale) 2 Cor. xi. 5 I suppose that I was nott be hynde the chefe apostles.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 1 (1623) ii. iv. 29 Let him that is a true-borne Gentleman,..If he suppose that I haue pleaded truth, From off this Bryer pluck a white Rose with me.

a1729 J. Rogers 17 Serm. (1736) 460 In which Profession it is very truly supposed that 'tis the Duty of all Christians to live together as Brethren in Faith and Love.

†b. intransitive with object implied or with as or so; often parenthetically, with or without as (also transitive in passive with non-referential it as subject). Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > belief > expressed belief, opinion > hold an opinion, opine [verb (intransitive)] > express an opinion

suppose1387

opinec1450

to go on record1867

1387–8 Petition London Mercers in R. W. Chambers & M. Daunt Bk. London Eng. (1931) 35 (MED) Nichol Brembre saide in sustenaunce of his falshede owre lige lordes wille was such that neuer was such as we suppose.

a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) vii. l. 2632 Bot for al that I schal noght glose Of trouthe als fer as I suppose.

c1400 ( G. Chaucer Treat. Astrolabe (Cambr. Dd.3.53) (1872) Prol. 1 Alle the conclusiouns that han ben fownde,..ben vn-knowe perfitly to any mortal man in this regioun, as I suppose.

a1450 (c1410) H. Lovelich Merlin (1904) I. l. 1084 This ne may non child be: Jt is the devel, ful Sykirle..we supposen, it be a devel of helle.

1465 J. Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 528 John Pampyng knowyth hym well j-now. I suppose and þe blak hose be payid for.

1469 in F. W. Weaver Somerset Medieval Wills (1901) 216 Two pair of hosis, price, I suppose, 8s.

a1500 (?a1400) Wars Alexander (Trin. Dublin) l. 842* (MED) Who am I þat am here, as þou supposez?

1556 in A. Feuillerat Documents Office of Revels Edward VI (1914) 215 I have made a Comodie..mete as it is supposed to be played before the Quene.

1671 J. Ray Let. 12 Sept. in H. Oldenburg Corr. (1971) VIII. 260 You shall see start out of many little holes or papillae into ye cavity of ye pipe a certain glutinous liquour, wch serves as I suppose to keep ye parts thereabout slippery.

1781 S. Johnson Mallet in Pref. Wks. Eng. Poets X. 10 Glover rejected, I suppose, with disdain the legacy.

1793 C. Smith Old Manor House II. xiii. 310 ‘And is she there now?’ cried Orlando eagerly. ‘Yes,’ replied the cook, ‘I suppose so.’

†c. transitive. With infinitive: to believe oneself to do or have done. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > judgement or decision > evaluation, estimation, appraisal > appraise, estimate [verb (transitive)] > consider to be, account as

telleOE

talec897

seeOE

letc1000

holdc1200

reckon1340

aima1382

accounta1387

counta1387

judgec1390

takea1400

countc1400

receivec1400

existimatec1430

to look on ——?c1430

makec1440

reputea1449

suppose1474

treatc1485

determinea1513

recount?c1525

esteem1526

believe1533

estimate?1533

ascribe1535

consider1539

regard1547

count1553

to look upon ——1553

take1561

reck1567

eye?1593

censure1597

subscribe1600

perhibit1613

behold1642

resent1642

attributea1657

fancy1662

vogue1675

decount1762

to put down1788

to set down1798

rate1854

have1867

mean1878

1474 W. Caxton tr. Game & Playe of Chesse (1883) iii. iii. 105 They supposid well to haue knowen many other thynges.

c1500 Melusine (1895) 30 Thou hast slayn thy lord..how be it that at that ooure thou supposest not to haue doon it.

?1567 Def. Priestes Mariages (new ed.) Pref. p. 9^v He..were lothe to lose the gaine and praise, that he supposeth to haue deserued, by this his greate trauell.

1601 R. Dolman tr. P. de la Primaudaye French Acad. III. 136 Some suppose to haue a very good foundation for iudiciall Astrologie.

1681 P. Rycaut tr. B. Gracián y Morales Critick 114 One had his eyes so dazled, that he supposed to see that which he never beheld.

†d. transitive. With other constructions, esp. object and infinitive, object and complement, or simple object. Obsolete.

ΚΠ

?1483 W. Caxton tr. Caton i. sig. bij^v That euery man may suppose and saye good of the.

c1500 Melusine (1895) 3 Many thinges which men suposen not to be true.

c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 2317 We might say this for certen, & suppose it in hert.

a1592 R. Greene Frier Bacon (1594) sig. B2 Ioieng that our Academie yeelds A man supposde the woonder of the world.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 1 (1623) v. v. 66 Would you not suppose Your bondage happy, to be made a Queene?

1658 Sir T. Browne Hydriotaphia: Urne-buriall iii. 48 While we suppose common wormes in graves, 'tis not easie to finde any there.

1692 J. Locke Toleration iii. ix, in Wks. (1727) II. 408 The Mass in France is as much suppos'd the Truth, as the Liturgy here.

e. transitive. Scottish and English regional. To believe as a certainty, know, understand. Now rare (but cf. sense 3).

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > know, be aware of [verb (transitive)]

witc888

underyetec893

knowOE

acknowOE

understanda1000

seeOE

awitc1200

wota1300

beknowc1300

kena1400

cognizance1642

suppose1843

1843 W. Scrope Days & Nights Salmon Fishing in Tweed iv. 94 Suppose, in Scotch, does not imply a doubt, but denotes a certainty.

1870 F. Kilvert Diary 31 May (1944) 39 Hamar of Boatside has had the measles heavily... He said ‘I suppose I have had the measles,’ as if he did not know that he had. It is the curious aggravating Herefordshire use of the word ‘suppose’.

1889 E. Peacock Gloss. Words Manley & Corringham, Lincs. (ed. 2) I suppoase he's dead, for I was at th' funeral.

1890 Leeds Mercury Weekly Suppl. 20 Dec. in Eng. Dial. Dict. (1904) V. at Suppose ‘I suppose so and so has left here,’..used when the party using it knew what he ‘supposed’ actually to be a positive fact.

†4. intransitive. impersonal with complement and indirect object. him supposeth: it seems to him. Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > thing seen > appearance or aspect > have (specific) appearance [verb (intransitive)] > seem

thinkeOE

beseem?c1225

semblec1325

show1340

supposea1393

appeara1425

resemble?a1425

think1425

seem1570

'pear1851

a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) v. l. 22 Bot al to lytel him supposeth, Thogh he mihte al the world pourchace.

5. To form an idea of, conceive, imagine; to apprehend, guess.The active equivalent of sense 2.

a. transitive. With object clause.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of imagination > imagine or visualize [verb (transitive)]

seeOE

thinkOE

bethinkc1175

devise1340

portraya1375

imagec1390

dreama1393

supposea1393

imaginea1398

conceive?a1425

fantasyc1430

purposea1513

to frame to oneselfa1529

'magine1530

imaginate1541

fancy1551

surmit?1577

surmise1586

conceit?1589

propose1594

ideate1610

project1612

figurea1616

forma1616

to call up1622

propound1634

edify1645

picture1668

create1679

fancify1748

depicture1775

vision1796

to conjure up1819

conjure1820

envisage1836

to dream up1837

visualize1863

envision1921

pre-visualize1969

a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) vi. l. 2300 This yonge lord..axeth if that he supposeth What deth he schal himselve deie.

a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) ii. l. 1174 Tho sche supposeth what it mente.

a1500 (?c1450) Merlin ii. 25 When thei herde these words, [they] supposed wele what he ment.

1665 E. Stillingfleet Rational Acct. Protestant Relig. i. vii. 212 And yet is it possible, to suppose that these writings should be extorted out of their hands by violence.

1786 E. Inchbald I'll tell you What v. i. 69 If you cou'd suppose how obstinate Sir George was.

1820 W. Lowry in Ann. Biogr. & Obituary (1825) 9 i. v. 105 I have read with attention Moses' account of the deluge, and tried to suppose that it was the first time I had heard or read of such a circumstance.

1855 Leisure Hour 12 Apr. 226/1 If Minnie had asked my advice I would have given it, and from what passed between us, not long ago, you may suppose what that advice would have been.

1894 A. M. Caird Daughters of Danaus xlv. 438 You can suppose what a joy the thought has been to me all along.

1936 E. Westermarck Future of Marriage in Western Civilization iv. 78 It is impossible to suppose that the feeling of anger will ever disappear from the human mind.

2006 E. D. Stevens Burnt Rec. xiv. 135 Then he tried to suppose how she would feel.

†b. intransitive with of. Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of imagination > imagine or visualize [verb (intransitive)]

areachc1220

supposea1393

thinka1400

framea1529

to conceive of1570

humour1605

imagine1631

conceive1658

realize1658

visualize1871

the mind > mental capacity > belief > conjecture, guessing > form conjectures, guess [verb (intransitive)]

divine1362

supposea1393

conjecta1425

guessc1535

rove1551

level1580

conjecture1587

to harp at1611

to venture at1623

to make a shot1840

reach1952

a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) i. l. 2196 (MED) The king supposeth of this wo, And feigneth as he noght ne wiste.

c. transitive. With other constructions, esp. simple object, object and participle as complement, or object and infinitive.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > belief > conjecture, guessing > conjecture, guess [verb (transitive)]

readOE

ettlec1275

divine1362

areadc1374

conjectc1374

aima1382

imaginec1405

supposec1405

imagine1477

conjecture1530

guessa1535

harpa1616

foreguess1640

c1405 (c1395) G. Chaucer Wife of Bath's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) Prol. l. 760 Who wolde wene, or who wolde suppose The wo that in myn herte was?

1573 G. Gascoigne tr. Ariosto Supposes Prol., in Hundreth Sundrie Flowres sig. B.ij^v I suppose you shoulde haue hearde almoste the laste of our Supposes before you coulde haue supposed anye of them arighte.

1609 W. Shakespeare Sonnets lvii. sig. D4^v Nor dare I question..Where you may be, or your affaires suppose .

a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 1 (1623) iv. i. 186 More furious raging broyles, Then yet can be imagin'd or suppos'd .

1706 M. Pix Adventures in Madrid i. 3 I can suppose her a Princess, and fill my Head with a Thousand pleasant Chimera's [sic].

1742 H. Fielding Hist. Joseph Andrews II. ii. xiv. 274 You never can nor will suppose any thing equal to the Astonishment which seiz'd on Trulliber, as soon as Adams had ended his Speech.

1796 Trial R. T. Crossfield for High Treason 152 I ask..whether you can suppose conspirators not only not intimately acquainted, but hardly acquainted at all?

1839 Christian Beacon Nov. 162 If we can suppose a seal attached to a deed in which nothing is declared, such..would be the sacraments when no faith were written on the heart.

1875 Pop. Sci. Monthly Aug. 494/1 There is indeed a sort of wild and far-off possibility by which a little more work might be got out of a uniform-temperature universe, if we could suppose Clerk-Maxwell's demons..occupied in separating those particles of a heated gas which are moving faster than the average from those that are moving slower.

1912 T. D. Atklinson Eng. & Welsh Cathedrals 43 It is possible to suppose a work of greater genius; not one more pure and refined in its Doric simplicity.

1952 R. J. G. Mayor Reason & Common Sense ii. xii. 272 Its reduction of everything to mind, even if we could suppose this to be successfully achieved, would bring it no nearer to a knowledge of the existence of this or that particular mind.

2003 W. P. Head in D. R. Mets & W. P. Head Plotting True Course iii. 102 It is impossible to suppose the author's motives for these statements.

†6. To expect, regard as likely to happen.

a. transitive. With object clause, object and infinitive, or simple object: of a future external action or event. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > expectation > expect [verb (transitive)]

weenOE

weenc1000

thinklOE

lookc1225

hopec1330

trusta1387

wait onc1390

supposea1393

to wait after ——1393

to look after ——c1400

thinkc1480

attend1483

suppone1490

expect1535

to expect for1538

aspect1548

respect1549

look1560

ween1589

attend1591

propose1594

await1608

to presume on, upon, or of1608

to look forwards1637

prospect1652

to look for ——a1677

augur1678

anticipate1749

to look to ——1782

spect1839

contemplate1841–8

to look forward1848

eye1979

a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) i. l. 226 If thou wolt my schrifte oppose Fro point to point, thanne I suppose, Ther schal nothing be left behinde.

a1425 (?c1375) N. Homily Legendary (Harl.) in C. Horstmann Altengl. Legenden (1881) 2nd Ser. 61 Þe tre es funden, whilk we suppose Sall ger vs all oure pouwer lose.

1474 W. Caxton tr. Game & Playe of Chesse (1883) iii. iii. 100 He was ryght seeke And..men supposid hym to dye.

a1513 H. Bradshaw Lyfe St. Werburge (1521) i. xii. sig. e.i Wofully he went, to his bed..Supposynge some dethe, withouten any remedy.

1525 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles II. ccxlviii. 762 It were to suppose, that if the erles of Huntyngton and of Salysbury were alyue..the Frenchmen then wolde soone passe ouer the see.

b. transitive. With infinitive: of a future internal or personal action or event. Obsolete.

ΚΠ

a1400 (c1303) R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne (Harl.) l. 6970 Whan Seynt Ihon herde þat seye, Þat Troyle supposed for to deye.

1426 W. Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 7 I suppose to se yow on Palme Sunday.

1447 O. Bokenham Lives of Saints (Arun.) (1938) l. 163 Me dede dryue A cruel tyraunth in-to a fen..Wher I supposyd to haue myscheuyd.

1456 W. Worcester in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) II. 134 Yn the ende of thys terme y suppose to be at London.

1596 T. Danett tr. P. de Commynes Hist. ii. x. 70 The Lord of Hymbercourt, marched straight to the citie, supposing to enter without resistance.

1607 E. Grimeston tr. Gen. Inuentorie Hist. France ii. 378 He reckoned without his host, not supposing to see his father dead, & himself at the same instant in extreame danger of death.

1671 J. Milton Samson Agonistes 1443 Wherefore comes old Manoa in such hast..supposing here to find his Son..?

1760 Impostors Detected ii. v. l. 193 I never supposed..to have had this grant for nothing.

a. transitive. Of a person, system, etc.: to lay down or assume as true, take for granted, accept without question, presuppose. With simple object, object clause, object and complement, or object and infinitive.

ΚΠ

a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) i. l. 879 (MED) Sche, which al honour supposeth, The false Prestes thanne opposeth, And axeth be what observance Sche myhte most to the plesance Of godd that nyhtes reule kepe.

c1475 (?c1400) J. Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. (1871) III. 437 Sequestre we al mannes lawe, supposynge Crists ordynaunce; al þe drede of florishyng of men of þe world; and þanne it sewiþ þat..alle þise religions of monkis, chanouns, and freris, shal slepe as þei diden in tyme of þe apostlis.

a1500 tr. A. Chartier Traité de l'Esperance (Rawl.) (1974) 30 (MED) Nor aske non accompte..but suppose that His science is infallible, His providence inevitable, and His wille rightwisenesse.

1620 L. Andrewes Serm. Whitehall 16 Apr. 34 It supposes euery body, all the world bound to take notice of Him whom we looke for, onely by saying, Him, though wee neuer tell his name.

1688 S. Johnson Of Magistracy ii. 2 It supposes Mens Lands to be already Butted and Bounded, when it forbids removing the antient Land marks.

1799 Med. & Physical Jrnl. 1 198 ‘The Italians will always object,’ says he, ‘that you suppose what requires to be demonstrated.’

1818 W. Cruise Digest Laws Eng. Real Prop. (ed. 2) VI. 273 The law supposes that a man may vary his intent, even while he is writing his will.

1835 E. D. Mansfield in Trans. 4th Ann. Meeting Western Literary Inst. 324 He acted throughout as if things were as they should be, and not as they are. He worked to make the world altogether righteous by means which supposed it already such.

1875 B. Jowett in tr. Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) V. 132 Plato seems to suppose that life should be passed wholly in the enjoyment of divine things.

1921 Pedagogical Seminary 28 40 This argument supposes that the sole purpose of sex education is to prevent dissipation; but this is only one aim.

1984 F. C. R. Thee Julius Africanus & Early Christian View of Magic i. 16 Either idea supposes some knowledge of the work by Jerome.

1994 F. G. Gale Polit. Literacy 54 Legal positivism is related to formalism in that it also supposes law to have an existence independent of human interpretation and judicial intervention.

2003 T. Rockmore Before & after Hegel i. 26 Like the majority of philosophers since the ancient Greeks, Maimon simply supposes that it is necessary to avoid all circular reasoning.

b. transitive. Of an action, condition, fact: to involve as a ground or basis; to require as a precondition; to imply, presuppose. With simple object, object clause, object and infinitive, or †object and complement.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > belief > supposition, surmise > taking for granted, presumption > assume, presuppose [verb (transitive)] > of actions, etc. : require as basis

presupposec1443

supposea1475

presupponea1599

a1475 Sidrak & Bokkus (Laud) (1999) II. l. 9815 The rede supposeth regalte And is hewe of grete dignite.

1535 W. Marshall tr. Marsilius of Padua Def. of Peace xvii. f. 38 This supposed that there were many gouernours and rulers not reduced vnto some one heed.

1593 J. Balmford Short & Plaine Dialogue conc. Vnlawfulnes Cards sig. A4^v A Lot in the nature thereof doth as necessarily suppose the speciall prouidence and determining presence of God.

1660 Bp. J. Taylor Worthy Communicant Introd. Some take it [sc. the Holy Communion] to strengthen their faith, others to beget it, and yet many affirm that it does neither, but supposes faith beforehand as a disposition.

1662 E. Stillingfleet Origines Sacræ ii. i. §1 Mans obligation to obedience unto God, doth necessarily suppose his originall to be from him.

1681 J. Dryden Absalom & Achitophel 12 Lavish grants suppose a Monarch tame.

1699 R. Bentley Diss. Epist. Phalaris (new ed.) 447 These plainly refer to and suppose one another, as a half Crown English supposes a Crown.

1729 W. Law Serious Call ix. 122 Covetousness..supposes a foolish and unreasonable state of mind.

1759 S. Johnson Prince of Abissinia II. xxvii. 13 Patience must suppose pain.

1773 R. Graves Spiritual Quixote I. i. xi. 34 The suffering for one's opinions gives a man an air of consequence in his own eyes; as it supposes him to think for himself.

1864 A. Bain Senses & Intellect (ed. 2) ii. iii. 579 Heat supposes cold.

1909 W. James Pluralistic Universe vi. 244 This treatment supposes life to already have accomplished itself, for the concepts..are retrospective and post mortem.

1971 S. E. McEvenne Narr. Style Priestly Writer iv. 181 All of this activity..supposes the work of ‘a scribe skilled in the law of Moses’..or of ‘ministers of the word’..and most probably schools or centres where the texts can be studied, copied, edited etc.

2008 D. M. Harland Exploring Moon ii. 37 It was argued..that the crater marked the spot where a semi-molten ‘volcanic bomb’ fell after being ejected from an explosive vent, but this supposed that the Moon had recently been active and that there was a local vent.

c. transitive. Of a person: to presume the existence or presence of. Now rare.

ΚΠ

1593 T. Lodge Phillis sig. E5 Arte shall neuer be supposed.

1696 W. Whiston New Theory of Earth iv. 295 A Rain-bow were seldom or never to be suppos'd before the Deluge.

1860 J. Ruskin Mod. Painters V. 264 An adoration of shepherds with nothing to adore,..the Christ being ‘supposed’ at the side.

1869 W. E. Gladstone Juventus Mundi iii. 89 We have no reason to suppose, among the races actually named, any radical difference of language.

2008 J. Dosil Eating Disorders in Athletes iv. 89 If the attitudes displayed in all aspects are coherent with reasonable personal and sporting development, then there is no need to suppose an eating disorder.

†8. transitive. Law. To state, allege, esp. formally in an indictment. Also intransitive, parenthetically with as. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > statement > assertion without proof > [verb (transitive)]

ledgea1300

vouch1390

allege?a1400

suppose1411

pretendc1449

to-layc1450

reckonc1480

compare1536

obtend1573

make1593

represent1651

to trump up1697

1411 Rolls of Parl.: Henry IV (Electronic ed.) Parl. Nov. 1411 §13. m. 14 Certein commune of pasture..whiche the sayd lord..claymes..as it is supposed by the same bille.

1485–6 Rolls of Parl.: Henry VII (Electronic ed.) Parl. Nov. 1485 1st Roll §26. m. 18 The..duke affermyd a byll of trespas..supposyng by the same byll that the seid Thomas Thorp shulde have taken [= had taken]..dyvers goodys.

1528–30 tr. T. Littleton Tenures (new ed.) f. xxxvii He maye haue a wryt..supposynge by his wryt that his aduersary hath entred in to the landes or tenementes.

1651 tr. J. Kitchin Courts Leet (1653) 477 The Demandant shall not answer to the Barr, nor to the Voucher, but ought to maintain his Writ, that they are Tenants, as the Writ supposes.

1672 J. Dalton Let. 20 Jan. in L. Cheves Shaftesbury Papers (2000) 382 Some questions have arisen in whose name Originall and Judiciall Writts and Indictments of Treason and Felony should be made and in such Writts and Indictments contra cujus pacem should be supposed.

1795 Acts & Laws Mass. xli. 482 There shall be one or more Trustees summoned, who shall not have come into Court and discharged themselves upon oath of being Trustees, as supposed in the Writ.

9. To entertain as an idea or notion sufficiently probable to be practically assumed as true, or to be at least admitted as possibly true, on account of consistency with known facts; to infer hypothetically; to incline to think, sometimes mistakenly.Not always clearly distinguishable from sense 3, esp. in early use.

a. transitive. With object and infinitive.

(a) In the active.

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > existence > intrinsicality or inherence > inhere in or be an attribute of [verb (transitive)] > attribute or ascribe as an attribute

puta1382

applya1393

suppose?a1425

ascribec1475

attach?1531

attribute1533

adscribe1534

assign?1541

allude1561

repose1561

predicate1614

?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (N.Y. Acad. Med.) f. 10^v (MED) Þat basillare þat is aboue þe palate þe which som man supposeþ to be of þe ouercheke.

1583 G. Peckham True Rep. Newfound Landes v. sig. E.iv He..discribeth that beast at large, supposing it to be a certaine kinde of Buffe.

1683 Dutch Rogue 186 She brought in a great Iron money-chest fill'd with stones and other ponderous materials, which he supposed to be money.

1745 P. Thomas True Jrnl. Voy. South-Seas 115 One Man on Horseback, whom they supposed to be a Centinal, or Outscout.

1808 Duke of Wellington Let. to Castlereagh 5 Sept. in Dispatches (1837) IV. 142 This army..would be the operating army against what I have supposed to be the French operating army.

1856 J. A. Froude Hist. Eng. I. iv. 278 They supposed themselves to have gained a victory.

1916 Fur News Mar. 48/1 On November 4 I started for my first fox hunt, as I supposed it to be; but to my surprise it turned out to be a cat hunt.

1963 J. W. Doberstein tr. H. Thielicke Encounter with Spurgeon xv. 211 With genial temper, and an evident desire to benefit me, he marked down most relentlessly everything which he supposed me to have said incorrectly.

2003 P. D. Smith Seas that Mourn xvii. 139 As Jimmy stood his lookout watch that night atop the flying bridge, he studied the area where he supposed the city to be.

(b) In passive. In later use, frequently with the implication that the action or state is likely or expected, and hence passing into sense 13.

ΘΚΠ

society > morality > duty or obligation > [verb (transitive)] > have (a duty)

haveeOE

sustain?1406

suppose1614

1614 S. Purchas Pilgrimage (ed. 2) iv. vi. 368 Zoroaster..a Chaldæan, supposed to liue in the time of Abraham.

a1665 J. Goodwin Πλήρωμα τὸ Πνευματικόv (1670) ii. 24 The proper opportunity for grace to shew it self, is either: 1. A flat or dead irrelativeness in point of merit in him to whom grace is shewn, or to be shewn, in reference unto him that is supposed to shew grace, [etc.]

1687 A. Lovell tr. J. de Thévenot Trav. into Levant ii. 170 He did not do as the rest did, who are all supposed to understand their Trade.

1727 J. Swift Let. to Writer of Occas. Paper in Wks. (1765) VIII. i. 111 You are not supposed to be very gracious among those who are most able to hurt you.

1748 Defoe's Tour Great Brit. (ed. 4) III. 292 Alderney, supposed by Camden, to be the Arica of Antoninus.

1770 Universal Mag. Apr. 181/1 The reputation of public measures depends upon the Minister, who is responsible, not upon the King, whose private opinions are not supposed to have any weight against the advice of his Council.

1859 C. Dickens Tale of Two Cities iii. x. 223 We saw the man, who was supposed to be at the gate, standing silent behind him.

1866 J. Bryce Holy Rom. Empire (new ed.) xvi. 317 Relics supposed to be those of Bartholomew the Apostle.

1875 B. Jowett in tr. Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) IV. 130 He may be supposed to have thought more than he said.

1911 Mariner′s Mirror 1 339 These might be supposed to be the legs of a lift-crowfoot.

1964 E. Salisbury Weeds & Aliens (ed. 2) iii. 72 Rayless Mayweed..is supposed to have come to this country from Oregon.

2001 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 1 Nov. 47/3 Phlogiston, the substance that was supposed to be given off by inflammable substances on burning.

b. transitive. With object clause. Often conveying diffidence, hesitancy, reluctance, or uncertainty in making an observation, esp. about oneself (cf. sense 9e).

(a) In general use.

ΚΠ

c1425 Bk. Found. St. Bartholomew's (1923) 4 (MED) He supposid that God toke vengeawnce of hym for his synnys a-mongis owte-landisshe peple.

1591 Troublesome Raigne Iohn sig. B3^v Some money matter, which you suppose burns in the bottome of my chest.

1603 R. Johnson tr. G. Botero Hist. Descr. Worlde 2 Neither let any man suppose that from wilines without force nor force without iudgment, can proceed any proiect of worthy consideration.

1615 G. Sandys Relation of Journey 8 It being supposed that Cicero was there buried.

1704 R. Steele Lying Lover ii. 31 I suppose I was used like other Children.—They clap'd me on a Skul-cap.

1710 J. Swift Jrnl. to Stella 29 Sept. (1948) I. 33 I drink no aile (I suppose you mean ale).

1766 Ld. Holland in J. H. Jesse G. Selwyn & his Contemp. (1843) II. 19 I suppose Lord March has a horse runs there, as I see he had at Ipswich.

1814 F. Burney Wanderer II. xxviii. 210 I don't well know how this happened; but the chimney-piece looks so like my own,-—and the fire was so comfortable,—that I suppose I thought I was at home.

1821 W. Scott Kenilworth I. x. 250 He..darted away from him with the swiftness of the wind, when his pursuer supposed he had nearly run him down.

1828 W. Scott Aunt Margaret's Mirror ii ‘That rascally quack would make my fortune were he to stay in Edinburgh,’ said the graduate... ‘I suppose I must not ask your ladyship anything about this Italian warlock's proceedings?’

1852 H. B. Stowe Uncle Tom's Cabin II. xxii. 64 Where do you suppose New Jerusalem is, Uncle Tom?

1861 T. Hughes Tom Brown at Oxf. III. xvi. 283 ‘I suppose I may light up,’ said Drysdale..pulling out his cigar-case.

1865 J. Lubbock Prehist. Times ii. 45 It has been supposed that tin was at one time abundant in Spain.

1872 C. D. Warner Saunterings 22 I did not see it, although I suppose I could have done so for a franc to the beadle.

1903 W. R. Hodder Daughter of Dawn xxviii. 324 Well, I suppose there's nothing to do now..but sit down here quietly and wait for the end.

1943 Life 25 Oct. 29/2 I suppose I knew this was not a maneuver so I tried harder to keep my head.

2005 Guardian 21 Sept. ii. 2/3 It is rational to suppose that Mars could become a stepping stone to the outer planets.

(b) In idiomatic use. do you suppose..?: used to express an indignant rejection of a suggestion or proposal. you may suppose..: you may be fairly sure (now rare). I don't suppose..?: introducing a declarative clause, used to express a question tentatively.

ΚΠ

1796 M. G. Lewis Monk I. i. 38 ‘How, condé?’ said Lorenzo in an angry voice; ‘do you suppose me base enough to have influenced my sister's retirement?’

1800 R. Warner Walk Western Counties Eng. iv. 101 When I left off play, I found I had got back my own half-guinea, the guinea I had borrowed, and fifteen shillings in good silver, after paying my part of the charge for the day. You may suppose I was not a little happy at this change of fortune.

1837 C. Dickens Pickwick Papers (1838) II. iii. 28 ‘Do you suppose, Mr. Sawyer,’ said Mrs. Raddle , elevating her voice for the information of the neighbours, ‘do you suppose that I'm a-going day after day to let a fellar occupy my lodgings, as never thinks of paying his rent?’

1883 R. L. Stevenson Treasure Island iii. xiii. 109 ‘Jim, Jim!’ I heard him shouting. But you may suppose I paid no heed.

1908 R. Bagot Anthony Cuthbert v. 43 I was not thinking of myself, but of you. Do you suppose that I want you to remain unmarried in order to secure my own position?

1925 F. S. Fitzgerald Great Gatsby ii. 32 I'd like to get one of those police dogs; I don't suppose you got that kind?

1954 M. de la Roche Variable Winds at Jalna vii. 120 ‘I did not,’ he declared, with violence... ‘Do you suppose that I would cross the ocean to see Adeline married to a man I detest?’

1995 S. Nye Best of Men behaving Badly (2000) 4th Ser. Episode 6. 163/2 It's been three days now. I don't suppose you fancy a quickie?

2010 A. Karpol Gift 632 So what do you suppose, that I'm some kind of witch because I dream? Is that what you think?

c. transitive. With other constructions.

(a) With object and complement.

ΚΠ

c1430 N. Love Mirror Blessed Life (Brasenose e.9) (1908) 59 By that symple siȝt supposynge hem disceyued.

1578 W. Hunnis Hyue Full of Hunnye xxxviii. f. 95^v Supposing her a common Fylth as by the way doth lye.

1637 J. Milton Comus 20 Supposing him some neighbour villager.

1651 T. Hobbes Leviathan ii. xxvi. 142 He that supposeth himself injured.

1671 R. Bohun Disc. Wind 302 These Miraculous Emotions of the Atmosphere can hardly be supposed from the agitation of common vapours of Air.

1779 Mirror No. 8. ⁋3 I supposed his present of little intrinsic value.

c1780 W. Cowper Jackdaw i There is a bird who, by his coat,..Might be suppos'd a crow.

1821 W. Scott Kenilworth II. ix. 219 Those foibles which are chiefly supposed proper to the female sex.

1837 J. G. Wilkinson Manners & Customs Anc. Egyptians (1841) I. ii. 65 M. Champollion supposes them the Scythians.

c1872–4 E. A. Duyckinck Portrait Gallery Eminent Men & Women II. 545/1 They supposed him a good office man, but hardly equal to the high responsibility of keeping the roads in order.

1898 J. A. Altsheler Herald of West xx. 225 I had supposed him off at sea somewhere dodging the English ships, and was astonished to see him there in Washington.

1939 Fortune Oct. 52/1 To focus the technique of scientific sampling upon the opinions of one relatively small class—the businessman—might be supposed a simpler task than measuring the opinions of the whole nation.

1943 L. Morris Threshold in Sun iii. 79 So vivacious seemed the enterprise of learning, that everyone supposed it on the threshold of another Renaissance.

2005 J. Barfoot Luck (2006) 13 They suppose her more or less immunized against irritation and insult.

(b) With simple object (chiefly pronoun).

ΚΠ

1526 Bible (Tyndale) Luke vii. f. lxxxvj Which of them tell me, will love hym moost? Simon answered, and sayde: I suppose that he to whom he forgave moost.

1596 M. Drayton Tragicall Legend Robert Duke of Normandy sig. B4^v Reporting that which thou doost but suppose.

1719 Philos. Trans. 1717–19 (Royal Soc.) 30 1022 Length of time has discovered that this Satellites motion is a small matter swifter than M. Cassini had supposed it.

1799 W. Taylor in Monthly Rev. 29 App. 556 Does Mr. Scott suppose his undertakings so consequential, that every Reader of Poetry in his Majesty's dominions must needs have known that he wrote for Seaton's prize? No—Mr. Scott himself could not surely suppose that—and yet he must have supposed it too.

1834 Narr. 2nd Voy. Capt. Ross Arctic Regions (House of Commons) App. 137 When you say Frobisher's Strait is fictitious, do you believe there is no sea between Resolution Island and the main land?—Certainly I suppose that; but there are two Frobisher's Straits.

1896 ‘M. Twain’ Personal Recoll. Joan of Arc ii. xvi. 225 I had always supposed that torture brought out the truth—everybody supposed it.

1994 G. Wolfe Lake of Long Sun v, in Litany of Long Sun (2000) 367 ‘Where do they live?’..‘On the hill, I guess.’ ‘That's what I'd always supposed myself.’

d. intransitive. Parenthetically, with or without as. Also transitive in passive with non-referential it as subject.

ΚΠ

1483 W. Caxton tr. J. de Voragine Golden Legende f. cclxxi/2 Whan he was sent of oure lord to preche, as I suppose, he herd how oure lorde sayd to hym, go my disciple to preche, voyde out of this Countre.

1528 W. Tyndale Obed. Christen Man f. lx But as oure Bisshopes heare not Christes voyce, so se they him not presente: and therfore make them a God on the erth, of they kynde (I suppose) of Aarons calfe. For he bringeth forth no other frute but bulles.

1548 Hall's Vnion: Edward V f. xii Then maye no manne lawfully (I suppose) take my warde from me out of this place.

1615 W. Lawson Country Housewifes Garden (1626) 7 The sap is the life of the tree,..neither doth the tree in winter (as is supposed) want his sap, no more then mans body his bloud.

1634 M. Sandys Prudence x. 138 Now, I suppose, my Striplings are formally clad, and togated, newly arrived at the Vniversitie.

1680 J. Dryden Kind Keeper ii. i. 18 You mean, I suppose, the peaking Creature, the Marry'd Woman, with a sideling look.

1707 G. Farquhar Beaux Stratagem i. 2 Bon[niface]. This way, this way, Gentlemen... Aim[well]. You're my Landlord, I suppose?

1796 R. Bage Hermsprong I. viii. 89 ‘Do you know, Sir, what a fortune Mr. Sumelin can give his daughters?’ ‘Oh,—half a million each, I suppose.’

1828 W. Scott Fair Maid of Perth iii, in Chron. Canongate 2nd Ser. III. 53 Tell us how this tale ended—with Conachar's escape to the Highlands, I suppose?

1859 Ld. Tennyson Enid in Idylls of King 26 If, as I suppose, your nephew fights In next day's tourney.

1885 ‘Mrs. Alexander’ At Bay xi. 177 He fell, and it is supposed was instantaneously killed.

1920 Theosophical Path Mar. 280 Soon we may see an insistence upon the Inner which, it may be supposed, later Confucianism, drifting towards externalism, would hardly have enjoyed.

1990 R. Critchfield Among British i. 27 Early on, one supposes, Mrs. Thatcher spotted the sea change: as smokestack industry died away, so did the Labour Party's support.

2007 N. N. Dergunova tr. G. M. Sotntseva Morphol. Auditory & Vestibular Organs in Mammals i. ii. 79 The following structures are discernible in the tectorial membrane: the axial part,..and the external part, which, as it is supposed, is connected with the Hensen cells.

e. intransitive. With object implied in clause of comparison. Also with so or not; in responses to questions, assertions, or proposals often conveying uncertainty, diffidence, or reluctance (cf. sense 9b).

(a) Generally.

ΚΠ

1549 J. Bale Dialoge betwene Two Chyldren sig. A.iii^v If Adam thus receyued thys gospel, & so taught it vnto his posterite, it hath continued much longer then I supposed.

1615 G. Wither Shepherd's Hunting Ded., in Juvenilia (1622) II. 104 I was persuaded to entertain a much better conceit of the times than I lately conceived, and assured myself, that Virtue had far more followers than I supposed.

1649 J. Sadler Rights of Kingdom (1682) 291 His Politick Capacity never, but his Person ever in Nonage, or supposed so in Law.

1680 ‘Philalethes’ tr. G. Buchanan De Jure Regni apud Scotos (1689) 21 But I expect a far other thing than you suppose.

1702 J. Milner Animadversions M. Le Clerc's Refl. iii. 96 Did his memory fail him in this? I suppose not; but if he erred, the fault was in his Judgment.

1757 Gentleman's Mag. Apr. 174/2 I..am particularly happy in not dying the mean, despicable, ignominious wretch, my enemies would have had the world believe me. I hope I am not supposed so now.

1779 Mirror No. 8. ⁋4 That Mirror..is of higher value than you suppose.

1814 Proc. Gen. Court Martial Mr. Assistant Surgeon Macdonald 23 Major Frith..asked me if I thought Mr. Macdonald saw us? I answered, ‘I suppose not.’

1844 Q. Rev. June 283 Our assertions upon this subject..have been contradicted, somewhat peremptorily... Our respected assailant..differs from us much less than he supposes.

1885 ‘Mrs. Alexander’ At Bay ix. 141 ‘His sorrow must have been great.’ ‘I suppose so.’

1904 F. Lynde Grafters ix. 131 ‘You don't mean to say there is any doubt about our ability to do it?’ ‘Oh, no; I suppose not, if it comes to a show-down.’

1939 G. R. Leighton Five Cities i. 42 There was more to the miner's saying ‘weak in the head and strong in the back’ than you might suppose.

1965 Boys' Life Nov. 54/2 ‘Up here,..a fella doesn't hafta read books and magazines to find out about huntin'’. ‘No, I suppose not.’

2003 Attitude Jan. 111/2 Q. Are you a particularly gay-friendly group? Gaz: I suppose so, it's hard to know though. But yeah, I don't see why not.

(b) colloquial. I suppose: short for I suppose so.

ΚΠ

1959 ‘E. McBain’ 'Til Death v. 67 ‘I think that's wise, don't you?’ ‘I suppose.’

1976 ‘Trevanian’ Main (1977) x. 206 ‘Is she a viable?’.. ‘I suppose. She had reason and opportunity.’

2005 T. M. McNally Goat Bridge (2007) 165 You must have friends, Stephen said. Yes, I suppose.

f. transitive. With adverbial: to bring or send by supposing.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > belief > supposition, surmise > suppose, surmise [verb (transitive)] > effect by supposing

suppose1647

1647 N. Ward Simple Cobler Aggawam 35 I am not without some contrivalls in my patching braines; but I had rather suppose them to powder, than expose them to preregular..judgements.

1732 Present State Republick Lett. 10 390 Our Author is aware, that it may be objected, this is not the true Reason; but that we cannot suppose it away, because it is an essential Attribute of the necessarily existing Being.

1747 S. Richardson Clarissa I. viii. 44 They ask not for my approbation, intending, as it should seem, to suppose me into their will.

1834 Relig. Monitor Feb. 265 We have before treated the voluntary slave and the disinterested master as most probably ideal, or imaginary beings, but we shall now join with the protestors in supposing them into existence, and summon them as witnesses of the lawfulness of slavery.

1865 R. Potter Elem. Treat. Optics (ed. 3) ix. 134 Since the only effect of the plane mirror is to reflect the pencils from the large mirror to the side of the tube, we may suppose it away, and the light to pass to the eye-glass directly in the axis of the telescope.

1889 Cent. Dict. at Abstraction The act of abstracting or concentrating the attention on a part of a complex idea and neglecting the rest or supposing it away.

1978 J. Hillman in Spring 157 Instead of translating it and supposing it into one or another meaning, I have amplified it by letting it speak in multiple restatements.

2000 S. Sturgeon Matters of Mind 94 We can make no sense of what would be the case if our norms failed to bite. To suppose them away is to generate incoherence.

g. intransitive. To make suppositions, speculate. Usually with reference to an earlier transitive use of ‘suppose’.

ΚΠ

1860 H. F. Brock Old Robin & his Prov. i. 22 We must all try to emulate Happy Nancy, and never suppose.

1864 C. Dickens Our Mutual Friend (1865) I. i. iii. 17 ‘Do you suppose there has been much violence..among these cases?’ ‘I don't suppose at all about it..I ain't one of the supposing sort.’

1912 W. P. Hastings Educ., Old & New ix. 87 This most excellent rule which all good teachers have adopted for their self-government: Never Suppose But Prove.

2001 R. A. Freeman Myst. Angelina Frood xvi. 212 ‘What do you suppose he wants me for?’ I asked. ‘I never suppose in regard to Thorndyke,’ he replied.

†10. transitive. With infinitive: to purpose, intend. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > will > intention > intend [verb (transitive)]

willeOE

meaneOE

minteOE

i-muntec1000

thinkOE

ettlea1200

intenta1300

meanc1330

forn-castc1374

intendc1374

ettlea1400

drive1425

proposec1425

purpose1433

attend1455

suppose1474

pretend1477

mindc1478

minda1513

pretence1565

appurpose1569

to drive at ——1574

thought to1578

hight1579

pretent1587

fore-intend1622

pre-intend1647

design1655

study1663

contemplate1794

purport1803

1474 W. Caxton tr. Game & Playe of Chesse (1883) ii. i. 22 Whan he sawe Alixandre he supposid to haue axid his requeste.

c1500 Melusine (1895) 224 It is the kinge of Anssay..with theire puyssaunce that supposen to goo reyse the siege of praghe.

?1620 S. Rowlands Paire of Spy-knaues sig. C4 This iron-trader Enter'd the Hulke, supposing to vnlade her.

1798 Gentleman's Mag. Mar. 249/1 He supposed to look for the jolly-boat, as she had been previously let down with men in her.

** Special grammatical uses of sense 1.

11. In imperative.

a. transitive. Introducing a hypothetical statement or case: assume, imagine.

(a) With object clause. Also: what if? Also intransitive with object implied.

ΚΠ

c1350 (a1333) William of Shoreham Poems (1902) 145 Suppose here hijs [= is] o iustyse, God and truwe.

c1485 ( G. Hay Bk. Law of Armys (2005) 144 Suppos men wald argu this mater sayand how mycht he be bathe juge & party?

a1513 J. Irland Meroure of Wyssdome (1965) II. 77 Suppos that mony cornis of diuers corne be castin in a erd that the distinccioun can nocht be maid na knawin betuix thame ȝit quhen thai grow ilkane schawis the proper natur and froit.

1595 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 3 iv. i. 14 Cla. Theile take No offence. Edw. Suppose they doe.

1631 G. Chapman Warres Pompey & Caesar iv. i. sig. G4^v Cato. But is not euery iust man to him selfe The perfect'st law? Ath. Suppose.

1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost ii. 237 Suppose he should relent..with what eyes could we Stand in his presence.

1707 J. Ward Young Mathematician's Guide App. 429 Suppose the Length of a Brewer's Tun, Back or Cooler be 217,5 Inches.

1729 W. Law Serious Call ix. 128 Suppose I had pressed an universal temperance, does not religion enough justify such a doctrine?

1736 Bp. J. Butler Analogy of Relig. ii. v. 196 A Person..breaks his Limbs, suppose.

1787 E. Inchbald tr. A.-J. Damaniaut Midnight Hour ii. 31 Culverin. Of what use is my carbine, then? Col. Ambush. To frighten him. Culverin. Suppose he should resist?

1868 Sunday Mag. 1 July 647 (heading) Just suppose.

1871 R. Browning Prince Hohenstiel-Schwangau 1 Suppose my Œdipus should lurk at last Under a pork-pie hat and crinoline.

2006 S. Waters Night Watch iii. 123 She didn't know whether or not to believe him about the door. Suppose he had forced it?

(b) With object and infinitive.

ΚΠ

1630 J. Taylor Praise, Antiqvitie, & Commoditie of Beggerie in Wks. i. 100/1 Suppose a Begger to be in the shape of a maundering or wandering souldier.

1678–9 E. Stillingfleet Serm. 7 Mar. in Wks. (1710) I. 257 Suppose a man to have riches and honours.

1734 J. Ward Young Mathematician's Guide (ed. 6) 305 Suppose the ∆ BCD to be an Isosceles ∆.

1821 Philos. Mag. 57 45 Suppose fig. 4. to represent a galvanic arc.

1889 T. Craig Treat. Linear Differential Equations I. xiii. 482 Suppose the quantics..to be adjoint.

1903 Boston Med. & Surg. Jrnl. 18 Aug. 193/2 Suppose a person to be versed in all the branches of nursing which do now or might in the future be supposed to constitute an educated nurse, would it then be legitimate for that person to take the initiative in the care of the critically ill?

1963 N. T. Gridgeman in Eval. Protein Quality (U.S. National Academy of Science–National Research Council) iii. 37 Suppose one to be a control and consider the difference between the control mean and each of the other test means.

2007 Vanity Fair June 95/2 Suppose the latter to be true.

ΚΠ

1698 J. Fryer New Acct. E.-India & Persia 391 Suppose Twenty Mules, Thirty Asses,..more or less committed to their Care.

1766 J. Fordyce Serm. Young Women I. iii. 85 Suppose me speaking to you as a brother.

1796 R. Bage Hermsprong III. xx. 173 Suppose me the child of an ancient Grecian parent, who, not chusing to support me, had..exposed me to perish.

1821 W. Scott Kenilworth I. vi. 142 You would have me believe that my noble lord is jealous—Suppose it true, I know a cure for jealousy.

1855 R. Browning In a Balcony 280 Suppose her some poor keeper of a school.

1907 Nation (N.Y.) 25 July 70/1 Suppose him the Democratic nominee, and the issue would be thrust in his face from every stump in the land. His party would have to bear the odium.

1963 tr. M. V. Fedorjuk in Amer. Math. Soc. Transl. 34 233 The Lemma holds for m = 1. Suppose it true for m.

b. transitive. Scottish. Passing into conj. If; esp. even if, albeit, though, although.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > testing > attestation, witness, evidence > qualification > on condition that [conjunction] > although

thoughc888

thoughc1050

allc1225

when1297

how so?c1330

althougha1350

ifa1400

if alla1400

though all?a1400

andc1400

suppose1400

albeit?a1425

albec1450

wella1470

even though1697

1400 in W. Fraser Mem. Maxwells of Pollok (1863) I. 140 Pollok, Murraf [etc.]..the qhwylk..the sayd Robert has gyffyn tyl hys forsayd brothir thankfully suppose it was talȝit tyl hym of befor.

c1480 (a1400) St. Mary of Egypt 249 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) I. 303 Suppos at I mane synful be, a-byde a lytil & spek with me.

1489 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (Adv.) i. 2 Storys to rede ar delitabill, Suppos that thai be nocht bot fabill.

a1500 Lancelot of Laik (1870) 1070 His hawbrek helpit, suppos he had no scheld.

1533 J. Gau tr. C. Pedersen Richt Vay 51 Thay cuir noth supos God haiff the hewine alen, sua that thay mycht lewe heir sa lang as thay vald.

c1560 A. Scott Poems (S.T.S.) ix. 2 Considdir, hairt, my trew intent, Suppois I am no^t eloquent.

c1560 A. Scott Poems (S.T.S.) xi. 27 To Venus als suppois ȝe wyle thame—Ressoun; Bot be ȝe frawdfull and begyle thame—Tressoun.

1584 King James VI & I Ess. Prentise Poesie sig. Liij Thir indifferent wordis, composit of dyuers syllabes, are rare, suppose in monosyllabes, commoun.

1589 T. Lupton Dreame of Deuill & Diues sig. D.vi^v But suppose there were no hell (as euery good christian doth beleeue there is one) what harme were it to thinke there were a Hell.

a1628 A. Simson Serm. John in Sel. Biogr. (1845) I. 124 He giveth the name of the light to John, suppose the light John had, he had it from Christ.

1775 A. Shirrefs Christmas Feast xiv, in Poems (1790) 213 For John o' pipe-skill wasna scant, Suppose I say 't.

1867 E. Allardyce Goodwife at Home xiii. 7 I wyte her squeelin's nae been hain't, Suppose I say't mysel.

1969 in Sc. Nat. Dict. at Suppose [Aberdeenshire] I wadna tell you suppose I kent.

1988 G. Lamb Orkney Wordbk. at cited word Suppose I hid (had) aal the money in the world I widna dae hid.

†c. With object implied and parenthetically. Often: for example, as, say (also as suppose).

(a) transitive. Obsolete.

ΚΠ

1577 H. I. tr. H. Bullinger 50 Godlie Serm. I. i. i. sig. A.iv^v/1 Moses..was borne..of those fathers, whome God had appointed to be witnesses of his will,..suppose Amram, Kahad, Jacob, Sem, Methusalem, and Adam.

1658 S. Hudson Vindic. Esence & Unity Church-Catholick Visible (ed. 2) i. 7 Now draw a word (as suppose head) from its natural and proper signification to a civil use, and head will signifie a King.

1720 J. Raphson & S. Cunn tr. I. Newton Universal Arithmetick 83 The best way is to seek other Quantities that are not ambiguous, by which these may be determin'd, as suppose their Sum, or Difference, or Rectangle.

1747 W. Hooson Miners Dict. sig. D^v When they have done Measuring, they account the whole to be so many Bouts, as suppose 24 Bouts and one half, that's Sixty-four Loads.

1800 W. Scott Let. 22 Apr. (1932) I. 97 To treat with the proprietors of some established paper—suppose the Caledonian Mercury.

1831 D. Brewster Treat. Optics iv. 38 M N is a dense medium (suppose glass).

(b) intransitive with complement. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > kind or sort > individual character or quality > an individual case or instance > be instanced or exemplified [verb (intransitive)] > for instance

suppose1666

let us say1927

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

suppose1666

let us say1817

1666 J. Wallis Let. 25 Apr. in R. Boyle Corr. (2001) III. 144 There are these three notorious Observations made of the Reciprocation of Tides. First the Diurnal Reciprocation... Secondly, the Menstrual; whereby in one Synodical period of the Moon, suppose from Full-moon to Full-moon.

1666 G. Harvey Morbus Anglicus xxvii. 149 The Pericardium is likewise summon'd by Petr. Salius..for an apparent cause of a tabes or Marcour, if anywise affected, as suppose inflammed, or pustulated.

1736 Bp. J. Butler Analogy of Relig. i. i. 12 That we are to exist hereafter in a State as different suppose from our present [etc.].

1747 J. Smith Mem. Wool I. l. 235 But whenever the Price of English Wool in England, by taking off the Prohibition..should raise the Market at Home, as, suppose, to 9 d. instead of 6 d. the Case would be greatly altered.

1762 H. Home Elem. Crit. (ed. 3) I. v. 240 It has been explained why smoke ascending in a calm day, suppose from a cottage in a wood, is an agreeable object.

1807 C. Hutton Course Math. II. 7 In the Third Method, Or Instrumentally, as suppose by the log. lines on one side of the common two-foot scales.

1857 J. Ruskin Polit. Econ. Art 241 But if the Government issued so many spotted stones that it was impossible for the body of men they employed to comply with the orders; as, suppose, if they only employed twelve men, [etc.]

d. transitive. colloquial. With object clause. Introducing a suggestion or proposal.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > belief > suggestion, proposal > suggest [verb (transitive)]

suggest1526

prepose?1541

propose1566

propound1585

offer1660

vote1698

suppose1762

1762 C. Johnstone Reverie I. ii. i. 129 Suppose we take Stanza with us. A poet should be a judge of painting. Call him in.

1779 Mirror No. 34. ⁋9 ‘Suppose one of the ladies should give us an English song,’ said I. ‘Tis a good motion,’ said Mr. Bearskin, ‘I second it’.

1806 J. Beresford Miseries Human Life I. ii. 30 Suppose we pass to some of the less ignoble Miseries of the country.

1844 D. Jerrold Story of Feather (1873) xxviii. 191 Suppose you go to sleep, that you may get up in time enough.

1871 Galaxy Jan. 47 It is too dark here—suppose we go in where it is light.

1934 F. L. Lucas tr. M. Mauron Mount Peacock x. 133 Suppose you just begin by catching that black cur there, that's routing up all the refuse.

1961 N. O. Lurie Mountain Wolf Woman (1966) v. 39 My husband said, ‘Suppose we go too?’ ‘All right,’ I said.

2006 J. Shirley Subterranean 95 Suppose we work together to get out of here.

12. transitive. In present participle supposing.

a. Introducing a hypothetical statement or case: assuming; = sense 11a.

(a) With object and infinitive.

ΚΠ

a1513 R. Fabyan New Cronycles Eng. & Fraunce (1516) I. ix. f. vii^v It shulde seme y^t Troynouant or London was buylded before the sayd Cytie of yorke aboute an hondreth and .xl. yeres supposynge the Cytie of London to be begonne in the seconde yere of Brutes reygne.

1590 C. Lucar Lucarsolace iii. xlii. 136 Supposing ABCD to be the assigned square, diuide any one side therof into two equal parts.

1665 J. Glanvill Sciri Tuum: Authors Defense Authors Defense 48 in Scepsis Scientifica Supposing both wheels to be denticulated, the little wheel will with it's teeth describe lines.

1782 W. Marshall Minutes in Rural Econ. Norfolk (1787) II. 224 Supposing the cheeseling to be made in the morning, it now remains in the press, untouched, until the evening.

1861 T. Lund J. Wood's Elem. Alg. 237 Supposing O to be excluded as a value of either x or y.

1911 Encycl. Brit. XVII. 731/2 Supposing equilibrium to have been attained in a given market,..the price of the commodity dealt in, in the market, will remain practically unchanged during that period.

2000 N. Rescher Inq. Dynamics iii. 31 Supposing such a thing to be true, what is the kind of proof which I ought to demand to satisfy me of its truth?

(b) With object clause. Also: what if? Also intransitive with object implied.

ΚΠ

1659 H. More Immortality of Soul ii. vii. §13. 197 Supposing that the Soul's Centre of perception..could be..seated in such dull pasty Matter as the Pith of the Brain is.

1690 J. Locke Ess. Humane Understanding iv. ii. 267 For supposing the Sensation or Idea we name Whiteness, be produced in us by a certain number of Globules.

1721 in Publ. Catholic Rec. Soc. (1910) 8 305 They shall cause to be said thrice thirty Masses for Mother Abbesse, supposing she dyes.

1836 C. Dickens Let. ?27 Aug. (1965) I. 172 Supposing it should be as successful as I, and every one else anticipate, should you be disposed to make any agreement with me, for publishing it?

1862 J. Ruskin Unto this Last i. 35 Supposing the captain of a frigate saw it right..to place his own son in the position of a common sailor.

1904 W. E. Norris Nature's Comedian xi My objections—supposing I have any—wouldn't give you a sleepless night, I imagine.

1907 Pharmaceut. Era 20 June 581/1 (heading) Just supposing.

1981 A. MacLean River of Death (1983) i. 38 ‘I'm only going on a hunch—and a couple of brand-new golden coins that may be a thousand years old, two thousand... Just supposing.’ ‘Supposing what?’ ‘Supposing you found it, of course.’

ΚΠ

1689 W. Cole Purpura Anglicana 3 In a little time more, it will be of a Purplish red: after which, lying about an hour or two, (supposing the Sun still shining) it will be of a very deep Purple red.

1744 D. Falconer Decisions 28 Supposing the Deeds reducible of their own Nature, they must be supported from the Pursuer's Consent.

1857 J. Ruskin Polit. Econ. Art i. 43 Supposing them sculptors, will not the same rule hold?

1867 J. Ruskin Time & Tide ii. §7 Even supposing a gradual rise in social rank possible for all well-conducted persons.

1911 Classical Rev. 25 22 Supposing the transcription correct, we have the article used articularly..at the remote date of 1600 B.C.

2005 P. Maher in R. Festa et al. Confirmation, Empirical Progress, & Truth Approximation 102 Kuipers' ‘solution’, even supposing it true, does not solve the paradox.

b. colloquial. With object clause. Introducing a suggestion or proposal; = sense 11d.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > belief > suggestion, proposal > suggest [verb (transitive)] > for consideration

puta1350

purposea1382

propone1402

motion1505

exhibit1529

propound?1531

prefer1539

raise1566

to put forward1569

broach1579

start1579

offer1583

propose1614

first1628

to put it to a person1664

moot1685

suppose1771

pose1862

to put up1901

1771 E. E. Nichols Fault was All his Own II. xii. 6 ‘Now then we have gotten her off our hands,’ whispers Curiosity, ‘supposing we take a trip with Cupid to the court of Hymen—.’

1834 ‘An Officer’ Ambrose & Eleanor I. v. 68 ‘Supposing we leave that point to be decided by Shubal.’ ‘Agreed.’

1891 T. Hardy Tess of the D'Urbervilles I. v. 73 Supposing we walk round the grounds to pass the time, my pretty Coz?

1908 R. Bagot Anthony Cuthbert iii. 24 By the way, supposing you were to drop ‘uncle-ing’ me?

1985 R. Curtis & B. Elton Blackadder II in R. Curtis et al. Blackadder: Whole Damn Dynasty (1998) 177/1 Supposing I was to say to you something like ‘I'm a close friend of the queen's and I think she'd be very interested to hear about you and Mollie and the wimple, so why don't we just call it quits, eh, fatso?’

*** Special grammatical uses of sense 9.

13. to be supposed to: to be intended or meant to do or be; to have as a duty, to be obliged to, ought.

a. transitive. In the affirmative, and with normal negative to be supposed not to.

ΚΠ

1797 Encycl. Brit. XVIII. 380/2 (Tennis) When the player gives his service at the beginning of a set, his adversary is supposed to return the ball.

1799 J. Robertson Gen. View Agric. Perth 377 The expence of fishing must be paid..after which the benefit of the catch is supposed to accrue to the proprietors.

1862 Rhode Island Schoolmaster Jan. 31/2 True, all the pupils learn to write, or are supposed to, but we candidly believe that the number who acquire even a legible hand, is very small.

1872 E. W. Robertson Hist. Ess. 190 The aspirant for knighthood was supposed to pass his life between 7 and 14 as a page.

1894 J. Pope Mem. Rt. Hon. Sir John A. Macdonald I. ii. 24 It appears that Mr. Baldwin considered this notice as sufficient to relieve him of the ordinary obligations which are supposed to govern the actions of Cabinet Ministers.

1949 E. Caldwell This Very Earth xi. 112 What's a girl supposed to do on Tuesday nights..? Bring her diary up to date?

1962 E. Albee Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? i. 84 When Daddy retired, he'd take over the college... That's the way it was supposed to be.

1976 M. Machlin Pipeline xi. 134 That's more than the whole job was supposed to cost in the first place.

2010 S. Fry Fry Chrons. 356 I know that if you are flourishing in a regime you are supposed not to bellyache about it.

b. transitive. In the negative to be not supposed to, with the sense ‘to be meant or obliged not to’.With this transference of negation from the subordinate to the main clause, cf. must v.¹ 7.

ΚΠ

1884 H. R. Haweis My Musical Life i. iii. 80 Whewell's evening parties—called by the freshmen Whewell's ‘Stand-ups’, because undergraduates were not supposed to ‘sit’ on these solemn occasions.

1902 ‘R. Connor’ Glengarry School Days ii. 43 Girls are not supposed to be soldiers, are they, Margaret?

1914 G. B. Shaw Misalliance 86 Look here, Mr Percival: youre not supposed to insult my sister.

1969 A. Christie Hallowe'en Party xiii. 141 I brought her in lots of things that she was not supposed to eat.

1994 Rolling Stone 25 Aug. 100/4 What's a ‘pharmaconaut’? Somebody that tries out new combos (of pills) and does things they're not supposed to.

†II. Senses involving deception. Cf. supposition n. II.

14. To feign, pretend.

a. intransitive. Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > dissimulation, pretence > pretend, dissemble [verb (intransitive)]

letc1000

faitc1330

counterfeitc1374

dissimulec1374

feignc1400

showc1405

supposea1450

fare1483

simule?a1500

dissemble1523

pretend1526

frame1545

cloakc1572

jouk1573

pretent1582

disguisea1586

devise1600

semble1603

coin1607

insimulate1623

fox1646

sham1787

dissimulate1796

gammon1819

to let on1822

simulate1823

possum1832

simulacrize1845

to put on an act1929

to put on (also up) a show1937

prat1967

a1450 (c1410) H. Lovelich Hist. Holy Grail xxxvi. 243 Sche hym kyste with Al hire Myht, Supposyng to ypocras with herte goodlye; but Al was falshod and Trecherye.

1699 tr. C. de Saint-Evremond Arguments M. Herard 137 To invent a hundred things of this Nature, to disguise, feign, and suppose, have been, as it were, the steps, by which Monsieur Herard has mounted to the heighth of his bold Elogy on Monsieur the Duke.

b. transitive. With object and infinitive, object clause, or object and complement. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > dissimulation, pretence > pretend, simulate, feign [verb (transitive)]

mitheeOE

bipechec1000

huec1000

feigna1300

unlikena1382

counterfeitc1400

pretend1402

dissimulec1430

dissimule1483

simule?a1500

semble1530

counterfeit1534

dissemblea1538

suppose1566

countenance1590

mock1595

assume1604

to put on1625

assimulate1630

personate1631

to take on1645

simulate1652

forge1752

sham1775

possum1850

to turn on1865

fake1889

1566 W. Painter Palace of Pleasure I. v. f. 13^v The maide..was the doughter of his owne bondwoman, who afterwardes beeyng stolen awaie, was caried to the house of Virginius, and supposed to bee his childe.

1622–3 in Quarter Sessions Rec. (N. Riding Rec. Soc.) (1885) III. 161 Ninian Etherington, supposing himself to be a Sheriffes Baliffe, did distreigne and carrie awaie a cow.

1676 W. Wycherley Plain-dealer i. i Keep all that ask for me from coming up; suppose you were guarding the Scuttle to the Powder room.

1754 S. Fielding Cry I. Contents sig. A4 Portia again personates Melantha, and tells the life she had formed on supposing herself married to Ferdinand, and triumphing over her rival Portia.

15. transitive. To substitute (something, esp. a child) by artifice or fraud. Cf. earlier suppone v. 4; also supposition n. 4a, supposititious adj. 1. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > time > change > exchange > substitution > substitute [verb (transitive)] > fraudulently

suppone1542

suppose1607

to ring in1819

switch1897

the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > cheating, fraud > treat fraudulently, cheat [verb (transitive)] > substitute fraudulently

underputc1400

suppone1542

suppose1607

to ring in1819

humbug1821

switch1897

1607 E. Grimeston tr. S. Goulart Admirable & Memorable Hist. 255 Others..haue stuft vp their bellies with cloth & little cushions.., counterfetting themselues to bee distasted, way-ward, melancholie and heauie: and at the end of 9. monethes to suppose some Child, brought secretly from the house of some poore neighbour.

1614 J. Selden Titles of Honor ii. i. 176 That they when the Queen is in child-birth,..warily obserue least the Ladies should priuily counterfeit the enheritable sex, by supposing som other Male when the true birth is female.

a1640 P. Massinger Beleeue as you List (1976) ii. ii. 348 To suppose a bodie, and..to inter it in a rich monument, and then proclaime this is the bodye of Antiochus.

1641 Earl of Monmouth tr. G. F. Biondi Hist. Civil Warres Eng. I. v. 111 Shee..did suppose the sonne of a Iew..that he might personate the Duke of Yorke.

1731 N. Tindal tr. P. Rapin de Thoyras Hist. Eng. XV. 434 Others imagine, that she was really with child, but that having miscarried, she supposed a child.

1767 Speeches, &c. in Douglas Trial 48 Persons guilty of supposing children.

†III. Senses involving the placing of something.

16. transitive. To put, place, or add below something; to append. Chiefly figurative or in figurative contexts. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > relative position > low position > put in low position [verb (transitive)] > place under

underlayc1000

underputc1220

underseta1340

supposec1450

subject1578

substrate1578

suppone1611

subterpose1881

c1450 C. d'Orleans Poems (1941) 3 (MED) Twene ioy and woo my gost supposid is.

1608 G. Chapman Conspiracie Duke of Byron iv. sig. G3 Foolish statuaries, That vnder little [statues of] Saints suppose, great bases.

1649 Bp. J. Taylor Great Exemplar ii. 101 The three coronets, which themselves..supposed as pendants to the great crown of righteousnesse.

1797 Encycl. Brit. XVIII. 83/2 at Supposition Concords by supposition are those where the continued bass adds or supposes a new sound below the fundamental bass.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2012; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

单词	suppose
释义	supposen. Brit. /səˈpəʊz/, U.S. /səˈpoʊz/ Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: suppose v. Etymology: < suppose v. Compare earlier supposal n. 1. An act or instance of supposing something, in various senses of the verb; a supposition, hypothesis, conjecture; an assumption; an uncertainty, a doubt; a consideration of ‘what if...?’ Often (now only) with reference to a use of the verb ‘suppose’. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > belief > supposition, surmise > [noun] > instance suspicionc1460 supposal1511 supposition1565 suppose1573 surmise1590 supposure1613 1573 G. Gascoigne tr. Ariosto Supposes Prol., in Hundreth Sundrie Flowres sig. B.ij^v I suppose you shoulde haue hearde almoste the laste of our Supposes before you coulde haue supposed anye of them arighte. 1586 A. Day Eng. Secretorie i. sig. I5^v How ill beseeming it is..that it should so fal out, you may by supposes many wayes coniecture. 1616 T. Gainsford Hist. Trebizond iv. 348 But you will say, it is ambiguous. I reply, Malice must not misconsture, nor Wisedome be ouerruled with Supposes. 1672 Duke of Buckingham Rehearsal v. 49 Suppos'd! Ay, you are ever at your suppose. 1753 S. Richardson Hist. Sir Charles Grandison II. v. 75 I began with my roundabouts, and my suppose's. 1791–3 in Spirit of Public Jrnls. (1799) I. 290 Various other supposes have been offered. 1817 ‘H. Hedgehog’ Pavilion II. viii. 50 ‘Suppose, Sir, you were to take the character of the Oriental monarch, and sink the disguise altogether.’.. ‘Suppose me no supposes,’ cried the prince angrily. 1835 F. Marryat Pacha III. 103 (Water-carrier) Those confounded Moussul merchants! Their supposes always come to pass. 1864 Echoes from Gun of 1861 No. 3 xiii. 134 ‘My, dat ar'll be good joke, s'pose you carry him t'rough.’ ‘There's no suppose about it,’ replied Lee, loftily, ‘if you negroes do your part.’ 1875 H. W. Smith Christian's Secret Happy Life viii Nothing else will take all the risks and ‘supposes’ out of a Christian's life. 1897 F. Marryat Blood of Vampire xii Harriet's mind was full of ‘Supposes’. 1913 F. Walton Flying Machine Boys on Duty xxiv. 250 ‘I suppose that's Two Sisters canyon that we just crossed.’ ‘Your suppose is all right, kid!’ laughed the blond man. 1947 G. Cotterell This is Way ii. x. 145 ‘I suppose I ought to,’ Arthur said. ‘There's no suppose about it, old chap.’ 2001 J. L. Collier Chipper i. 8 Suppose the lock wouldn't twist off. Suppose there was a night watchman in there... Chipper had enumerated all his supposes to Pinch. †2. The action of supposing something, in various senses of the verb; supposition. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > belief > supposition, surmise > [noun] weeningc900 wenc1000 susposea1325 deeming1340 supposala1425 conjecturec1460 supposing1530 supposition1565 suppose1582 surmise1593 surmisal1641 putation1649 expectation1793 1582 A. Munday Discouerie E. Campion sig. G.ij Nowe this glorious Thraso,..vnder shewe and suppose of great learning,..subdued many to affecte him verie much. 1591 Troublesome Raigne Iohn i. sig. G3 If it be true, dye for thy tidings price; If false, for fearing me with vaine suppose. 1594 T. Nashe Vnfortunate Traveller sig. C4^v Whether you will parte with so much probable friendly suppose or no, Ile haue it in spite of your heartes. 1612 J. Selden in M. Drayton Poly-olbion iv. Illustr. 67 There was, by suppose, a correction of what was faulty in forme or matter. 1719 T. D'Urfey Wit & Mirth II. 330 He..Must know a Dun, with genuine suppose, As Spannels do their Masters, by the Nose. 1803 W. M. Finlay Arithm. Mag. i. 45 I see that 7 must be my first number, because it is distinguished from the other two by suppose. †3. A belief, a notion, an opinion. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > belief > expressed belief, opinion > [noun] > a view, notion, opinion thingOE thoughtc1300 opinion1340 device1393 holdingc1449 opinationc1475 sense1539 apprehension1579 suppose1587 supposal1589 conception1603 notion1603 opining1611 tenet1631 respect1662 sentiment1675 perception1701 1587 A. Fleming et al. Holinshed's Chron. (new ed.) III. Contin. 1327/2 Alwaies addicted to a maruellous suppose in himselfe of ripe iudgement. 1630 G. Widdowes Schysmatical Puritan Pref. He is pure, not really, but in his owne suppose. 4. (An) expectation. Now archaic and rare, echoing quot. 1609. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > expectation > [noun] to-hopec888 weenOE hopea1225 thoughta1350 opiniona1425 attentc1430 looking1440 presume?a1500 beliefa1522 expectation1527 expection1532 looking for1532 looking after?1537 expecting1568 imagination1582 expectance1593 suppose1596 expect1597 expectancy1609 apprehensiona1616 contemplationa1631 prospect1665 supposition1719 speculationa1797 augury1871 preperception1871 1596 A. Munday tr. 2nd Pt. Palmerin of Eng. ix [She] will returne as greatly displeased, as she is arriued heere with suppose of pleasure. 1609 W. Shakespeare Troilus & Cressida i. iii. 10 We come short of our suppose so farre, That after seauen yeares siege, yet Troy walls stand. View more context for this quotation a1637 B. Jonson Tale of Tub iii. vii. 79 in Wks. (1640) III Fatted with supposes of fine hopes. View more context for this quotation 1935 E. R. Eddison Mistress xix. 392 They came short of their suppose so far that Lessingham's out-sentinels brought him word of the enemy's approach in time for him to array his army to receive them. †5. A purpose, an intention. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ the mind > will > intention > [noun] > intention or purpose willeOE highOE thoughtOE intent?c1225 achesounc1230 attenta1250 couragec1320 devicec1320 minda1325 studya1382 understanding1382 suggestionc1390 meaninga1393 i-minda1400 minta1400 tent1399 castc1400 ettlingc1400 affecta1425 advicec1425 intention1430 purposec1430 proposea1450 intendment1450 supposing?c1450 pretensionc1456 intellectionc1460 zeal1492 hest?a1513 minting?a1513 institute?1520 intendingc1525 mindfulness1530 cogitationa1538 fordrift1549 forecast1549 designing1566 tention1587 levela1591 intendiment1595 design1597 suppose1597 aim1598 regarda1616 idea1617 contemplationa1631 speculation1631 view1634 way of thinking1650 designation1658 tend1663 would1753 predetermination1764 will to art1920 1597 T. Middleton Wisdome of Solomon Paraphr. xi. sig. O Breathlesse in wasting of so vaine a breath, Dumbe in performance of their tongues suppose. ?1624 G. Chapman tr. Hymn to Apollo in tr. Crowne Homers Wks. 33 Here I entertaine suppose To build a farr-fam'd Temple. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2012; most recently modified version published online March 2022). supposev. Brit. /səˈpəʊz/, U.S. /səˈpoʊz/ Forms: Middle English sopos, Middle English soposse, Middle English suppois, Middle English suppos, Middle English supposse, Middle English suppoyse, Middle English svppose, Middle English 1600s sopose, Middle English–1600s soppose, Middle English–1600s supose, Middle English– suppose, 1500s subpose, 1500s–1600s sopose, 1500s–1600s suppoose, 1600s suppost, 1600s suppoze, 1800s suppoase (English regional (Lincolnshire)); Scottish pre-1700 supois, pre-1700 supos, pre-1700 supose, pre-1700 suppois, pre-1700 suppoise, pre-1700 suppoiss, pre-1700 suppos, pre-1700 supposz, pre-1700 suppoys, pre-1700 1700s– suppose. Origin: A borrowing from French. Etymon: French supposer. Etymology: < Anglo-Norman and Old French, Middle French suposer, supposer (French supposer ) to place below (mid 12th cent. in Anglo-Norman), to presume, conjecture (1280), to assume that (a proposition) is likely or true, to propose (something) as a hypothesis (both 14th cent.), (in law) to allege (mid 14th cent. in Anglo-Norman, or earlier), to require as a necessary condition (1370), to substitute, replace (one thing or person with another) (late 15th cent.), to present (something fake) as genuine (1538) < sup- sub- prefix + poser pose v.¹, after classical Latin suppōnere suppone v.; compare similarly propose v., prepose v. Compare Old Occitan supausar (15th cent. in an isolated attestation). Compare suppone v.In rapid speech, frequently with pronunciation Brit. /spəʊz/, U.S. /spoʊz/: compare s'pose v. The British English pronunciation of the past tense in sense 13 is sometimes /səˈpəʊst/ by assimilation of the final consonants to the initial t of to. I. Senses involving mental action. Cf. supposition n. I. * General uses. 1. To assume (without reference to truth or falsehood) as a basis of argument, or for the purpose of tracing consequences; to frame as a hypothesis; to put as an imaginary case; to posit. See also branches I., I.. a. transitive. With object clause. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > belief > supposition, surmise > taking for granted, presumption > assume, presuppose [verb (transitive)] supposec1350 presumec1390 take1429 presupposec1443 takec1449 presupponec1475 supponea1513 subsume1562 foreprise1577 to take for granted1615 to give for granted1637 assume1660 foretake1674 premisea1706 predicate1718 dare say1749 pre-assume1789 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 c1350 (a1333) William of Shoreham Poems* (1902) 145 Suppose here hijs [= is] o iustyse, God and truwe. c1400 J. Wyclif Eng. Wks. (1880) 284 Here we schal suppose as Cristen mennes bileue, þat god is cheef lord. a1450 in J. Kail 26 Polit. Poems (1904) 106 I suppose þe prest haue but on ost, Breke it, and parte to twenty and mo: As moche is þe leste cost As in þe grettest pece of þo. 1566 J. Knox Serm. sig. H.j^v Let vs suppose that in no sorte we did consent with those oppressions, but that we opponed our selues vnto them to the vttermoste of our powers. 1718 Occas. Paper III. No. 3 18 I will give you that which indeed you have no right to; and suppose, for Argument sake, that the blessed Jesus did join with the Jews in their Liturgy; and proceed to examine the two Inferences you draw from it. 1746 P. Francis & W. Dunkin tr. Horace Satires ii. iii. 221 Let us suppose you heard An able doctor [etc.]. 1823 Edinb. Ann. Reg. 1821 14 i. 181/1 But let us suppose, for the sake of argument, that these questions are objectionable. 1875 W. S. Jevons Money (1878) 254 As a second case, let us suppose that there is a town which is able to support two banks. 1906 A. E. H. Love Treat. Math. Theory Elasticity (ed. 2) i. 33 We suppose that the axis of x is the direction in which contraction takes place. 2003 A. F. Alford Pyramid of Secrets iv. 147 Let us now take a different approach to the problem... Let us suppose, as some Egyptologists have suggested, that the Grotto was a sacred site for centuries before the Pyramid was built. b. transitive. With other constructions, esp. object and complement, simple object, or object and infinitive. ΘΚΠ 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 1594 W. Clerke Triall of Bastardie v. 46 I can name my selfe, my mistris (you must suppose her a wyddowe) or her mayde. 1697 tr. F. Burgersdijck Monitio Logica ii. ix. 42 Suppose Aristotle, or the like instead of Man, and make an Expository Syllogism, with it. 1697 tr. F. Burgersdijck Monitio Logica ii. xvii. 72 First, supposing the Species, you suppose also the Genus. 1726 J. Swift Horace, Ode i. xiv. 7 Let me suppose thee for a ship a-while, And thus address thee in the sailor's style. 1729 W. Law Serious Call x. 143 Now do but suppose a man acting unreasonably; do but suppose him extinguishing his reason. 1749 D. Hartley Observ. Man i. i. §2. 60 Let us suppose the first Object to impress the Vibrations A, and then to be removed. 1815 W. Scott Guy Mannering I. xvi. 262 Which..might..do more harm than good in the case supposed. 1819 Ld. Byron Don Juan: Canto I lxxxv. 45 I only say suppose this supposition. 1823 H. J. Brooke Familiar Introd. Crystallogr. 157 If we suppose the octahedron to be placed with its axis horizontally. 1835 J. Young Lect. Intell. Philos. xxvii. 273 There is a great difference..between supposing an absurdity and conceiving it. 1889 O. Fisher Physics Earth's Crust (ed. 2) xx. 268 The closeness of the folds of a crumpled rock, formed as supposed, would depend upon [etc.]. 1929 R. H. Dotterer Philos. by Way of Sci. i. iii. 70 The material universe would then be losing energy constantly; and unless we suppose it to be finite also in point of time, it would long, long ago have become cold, dark, and lifeless. 1973 A. C. Danto Analyt. Philos. Action vii. 192 We had, in our discussions of belief, to suppose it possible in fact that a man should believe as an action, but only incoherent for him to believe that he had done so. 2006 H. Sakai & M. Nakata in S. Greco et al. Rough Sets & Current Trends in Computing 271 Let us suppose the same condition as in Proposition 5. †2. a. transitive. To have in mind or as an object of thought or speculation; to think of, conceive, imagine; (contextually) †to suspect the genuineness or truth of (obsolete). With simple object, object clause, object and infinitive, or object and complement. Obsolete.The stative equivalent of sense 5. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > belief > supposition, surmise > suppose, surmise [verb (transitive)] ween971 readOE aweena1275 guessc1380 supposec1384 seemc1386 imaginec1405 presupposec1443 deem1470 surmise1509 suspectc1550 doubt1568 expect1592 s'pose1632 fancy1672 sus1958 the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > lack of confidence, distrust, suspicion > mistrust, suspect [verb (transitive)] mistrowOE overtrowa1225 ortrow?c1225 susposea1325 souchec1325 supposec1384 mistrestc1415 mistrusta1425 mistraista1450 suspecta1500 mistrust1565 misdoubt1570 surmisec1571 fear1578 diffide1583 doubt1586 uncredit1615 disdoubt1659 jealouse1682 jalouse1816 suspicion1834 sus1953 the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of ideation > conceive, form in the mind [verb (transitive)] readOE thinkOE bethinkc1175 makea1400 imaginec1400 conceive?a1425 suppose1586 conceit1591 ideate1610 braina1616 forma1616 engross1632 cogitate1856 conceptualize1873 c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) 2 Macc. iii. 32 Lest..the kyng supposide [L. suspicaretur] eny malice of Jewis..done aȝeinus Helyodore. c1390 Pistel of Swete Susan (Vernon) l. 216 (MED) Þe semblaunt of susan wolde non suppose. a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) vi. l. 2107 (MED) The queene tolde him al the cas, As sche that guile non supposeth. 1586 A. Day Eng. Secretorie i. sig. K1 You must suppose and harpe vppon the end that must succeede vnto your trauaile. 1594 W. Shakespeare Lucrece sig. B4 When great treasure is the meede proposed, Though death be adiunct, ther's no death supposed . View more context for this quotation a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry V (1623) iii. 0. 3 Suppose, that you haue seene The..King at Douer Peer, Embarke his Royaltie. View more context for this quotation b. transitive. To attribute (something) to. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > existence > intrinsicality or inherence > inhere in or be an attribute of [verb (transitive)] > attribute or ascribe as an attribute > to a person reputea1425 supposea1450 threaten1555 to threap (something) upon1559 to pin one's faith (also hope, etc.) on (also to) a person's sleeve1583 intend1615 a1450 (?a1300) Richard Coer de Lyon (Caius) (1810) l. 1725 Thou art mys-tought, To have on me swylk a thought,..And swylke a tresoun to me sopos. 1614 J. Selden Titles of Honor 155 The ancientest Scepter among the Graecians must forsooth be suppos'd to Iupiter. 1658 J. Durham Comm. Bk. Revelation ii. 135 These graces which are expressed by the passion, as fear, love, joy, &c. are not so certainly to be tried by the passion that is in them, as by the will that is contained in them or supposed to them. c. transitive. To suspect (a person) of a crime or dishonourable act. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > lack of confidence, distrust, suspicion > mistrust, suspect [verb (transitive)] > someone suppose1556 misdoubt1599 1556 J. Heywood Spider & Flie xxx. sig. B I muste (quoth the flie) se sum token stronger. Ere I can suppose you of that mistery. 1684 J. Evelyn Diary (1955) IV. 366 Then were..Tried and..fin'd Mr. Hambden & others, for being supposed of the late Plot. 3. To hold as a belief or opinion; to believe in the truth of; to think, be of the opinion. †a. transitive. With object clause. Obsolete.In an impersonal construction in quot. a1387. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > belief > expressed belief, opinion > hold an opinion [verb (transitive)] ween971 holda1300 believec1325 judgec1325 feelc1380 supposea1387 conceivea1425 take1429 opinea1475 thinkc1480 supponea1500 esteem1507 opinion1555 intend?1577 meditate1585 opinionate1599 opiniate1624 arbitrate1637 apprehend1639 state1671 calculate1805 consider1830 fink1888 a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1865) I. 249 (MED) Somtyme in Rome fader and moder schulde nouȝt norische and teche hire owne children, for me supposed [L. praesumebatur] þat he wolde be to tendre of hem. a1425 (a1400) Prick of Conscience (Galba & Harl.) (1863) l. 3776 We shuld trow, and suppose ay Þat alle er save..Þat we se here gude werkes wirk, And has þe sacramentes of halikyrk. ?a1425 Mandeville's Trav. (Egerton) (1889) 57 (MED) Lamech slew Cayn with ane arowe supposing he had bene a wylde beste. ?a1450 (?c1400) Comm. Ave Maria (Lamb.) in Lay Folks' Catech. (1901) 11 Aue Maria. Men gretyþ comunly oure lady..And we suppose þat þis gretynge sauys many a man. a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll.) 326 ‘Hit semeth’..seyde kynge Arthure, ‘that ye know his name and frome whens he com.’ ‘I suppose I do so,’ seyde sir Launcelot, ‘or ellys I wolde not have yeffyn hym the hyghe Order of Knyghthode’. 1509 J. Fisher Mornynge Remembraunce Countesse of Rychemonde (de Worde) sig. Avi Suppose not ye..she wolde..as feruently haue mynystred vnto hym as euer dyde Martha. 1526 Bible (Tyndale) 2 Cor. xi. 5 I suppose that I was nott be hynde the chefe apostles. a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 1 (1623) ii. iv. 29 Let him that is a true-borne Gentleman,..If he suppose that I haue pleaded truth, From off this Bryer pluck a white Rose with me. View more context for this quotation a1729 J. Rogers 17 Serm. (1736) 460 In which Profession it is very truly supposed that 'tis the Duty of all Christians to live together as Brethren in Faith and Love. †b. intransitive with object implied or with as or so; often parenthetically, with or without as (also transitive in passive with non-referential it as subject). Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > belief > expressed belief, opinion > hold an opinion, opine [verb (intransitive)] > express an opinion suppose1387 opinec1450 to go on record1867 1387–8 Petition London Mercers in R. W. Chambers & M. Daunt Bk. London Eng. (1931) 35 (MED) Nichol Brembre saide in sustenaunce of his falshede owre lige lordes wille was such that neuer was such as we suppose. a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) vii. l. 2632 Bot for al that I schal noght glose Of trouthe als fer as I suppose. c1400 ( G. Chaucer Treat. Astrolabe (Cambr. Dd.3.53) (1872) Prol. 1 Alle the conclusiouns that han ben fownde,..ben vn-knowe perfitly to any mortal man in this regioun, as I suppose. a1450 (c1410) H. Lovelich Merlin (1904) I. l. 1084 This ne may non child be: Jt is the devel, ful Sykirle..we supposen, it be a devel of helle. 1465 J. Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 528 John Pampyng knowyth hym well j-now. I suppose and þe blak hose be payid for. 1469 in F. W. Weaver Somerset Medieval Wills (1901) 216 Two pair of hosis, price, I suppose, 8s. a1500 (?a1400) Wars Alexander (Trin. Dublin) l. 842* (MED) Who am I þat am here, as þou supposez? 1556 in A. Feuillerat Documents Office of Revels Edward VI (1914) 215 I have made a Comodie..mete as it is supposed to be played before the Quene. 1671 J. Ray Let. 12 Sept. in H. Oldenburg Corr. (1971) VIII. 260 You shall see start out of many little holes or papillae into ye cavity of ye pipe a certain glutinous liquour, wch serves as I suppose to keep ye parts thereabout slippery. 1781 S. Johnson Mallet in Pref. Wks. Eng. Poets X. 10 Glover rejected, I suppose, with disdain the legacy. 1793 C. Smith Old Manor House II. xiii. 310 ‘And is she there now?’ cried Orlando eagerly. ‘Yes,’ replied the cook, ‘I suppose so.’ †c. transitive. With infinitive: to believe oneself to do or have done. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > judgement or decision > evaluation, estimation, appraisal > appraise, estimate [verb (transitive)] > consider to be, account as telleOE talec897 seeOE letc1000 holdc1200 reckon1340 aima1382 accounta1387 counta1387 judgec1390 takea1400 countc1400 receivec1400 existimatec1430 to look on ——?c1430 makec1440 reputea1449 suppose1474 treatc1485 determinea1513 recount?c1525 esteem1526 believe1533 estimate?1533 ascribe1535 consider1539 regard1547 count1553 to look upon ——1553 take1561 reck1567 eye?1593 censure1597 subscribe1600 perhibit1613 behold1642 resent1642 attributea1657 fancy1662 vogue1675 decount1762 to put down1788 to set down1798 rate1854 have1867 mean1878 1474 W. Caxton tr. Game & Playe of Chesse (1883) iii. iii. 105 They supposid well to haue knowen many other thynges. c1500 Melusine (1895) 30 Thou hast slayn thy lord..how be it that at that ooure thou supposest not to haue doon it. ?1567 Def. Priestes Mariages (new ed.) Pref. p. 9^v He..were lothe to lose the gaine and praise, that he supposeth to haue deserued, by this his greate trauell. 1601 R. Dolman tr. P. de la Primaudaye French Acad. III. 136 Some suppose to haue a very good foundation for iudiciall Astrologie. 1681 P. Rycaut tr. B. Gracián y Morales Critick 114 One had his eyes so dazled, that he supposed to see that which he never beheld. †d. transitive. With other constructions, esp. object and infinitive, object and complement, or simple object. Obsolete. ΚΠ ?1483 W. Caxton tr. Caton i. sig. bij^v That euery man may suppose and saye good of the. c1500 Melusine (1895) 3 Many thinges which men suposen not to be true. c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 2317 We might say this for certen, & suppose it in hert. a1592 R. Greene Frier Bacon (1594) sig. B2 Ioieng that our Academie yeelds A man supposde the woonder of the world. a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 1 (1623) v. v. 66 Would you not suppose Your bondage happy, to be made a Queene? View more context for this quotation 1658 Sir T. Browne Hydriotaphia: Urne-buriall iii. 48 While we suppose common wormes in graves, 'tis not easie to finde any there. 1692 J. Locke Toleration iii. ix, in Wks. (1727) II. 408 The Mass in France is as much suppos'd the Truth, as the Liturgy here. e. transitive. Scottish and English regional. To believe as a certainty, know, understand. Now rare (but cf. sense 3). ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > know, be aware of [verb (transitive)] witc888 underyetec893 knowOE acknowOE understanda1000 seeOE awitc1200 wota1300 beknowc1300 kena1400 cognizance1642 suppose1843 1843 W. Scrope Days & Nights Salmon Fishing in Tweed iv. 94 Suppose, in Scotch, does not imply a doubt, but denotes a certainty. 1870 F. Kilvert Diary 31 May (1944) 39 Hamar of Boatside has had the measles heavily... He said ‘I suppose I have had the measles,’ as if he did not know that he had. It is the curious aggravating Herefordshire use of the word ‘suppose’. 1889 E. Peacock Gloss. Words Manley & Corringham, Lincs. (ed. 2) I suppoase he's dead, for I was at th' funeral. 1890 Leeds Mercury Weekly Suppl. 20 Dec. in Eng. Dial. Dict. (1904) V. at Suppose ‘I suppose so and so has left here,’..used when the party using it knew what he ‘supposed’ actually to be a positive fact. †4. intransitive. impersonal with complement and indirect object. him supposeth: it seems to him. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > thing seen > appearance or aspect > have (specific) appearance [verb (intransitive)] > seem thinkeOE beseem?c1225 semblec1325 show1340 supposea1393 appeara1425 resemble?a1425 think1425 seem1570 'pear1851 a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) v. l. 22 Bot al to lytel him supposeth, Thogh he mihte al the world pourchace. 5. To form an idea of, conceive, imagine; to apprehend, guess.The active equivalent of sense 2. a. transitive. With object clause. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of imagination > imagine or visualize [verb (transitive)] seeOE thinkOE bethinkc1175 devise1340 portraya1375 imagec1390 dreama1393 supposea1393 imaginea1398 conceive?a1425 fantasyc1430 purposea1513 to frame to oneselfa1529 'magine1530 imaginate1541 fancy1551 surmit?1577 surmise1586 conceit?1589 propose1594 ideate1610 project1612 figurea1616 forma1616 to call up1622 propound1634 edify1645 picture1668 create1679 fancify1748 depicture1775 vision1796 to conjure up1819 conjure1820 envisage1836 to dream up1837 visualize1863 envision1921 pre-visualize1969 a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) vi. l. 2300 This yonge lord..axeth if that he supposeth What deth he schal himselve deie. a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) ii. l. 1174 Tho sche supposeth what it mente. a1500 (?c1450) Merlin ii. 25 When thei herde these words, [they] supposed wele what he ment. 1665 E. Stillingfleet Rational Acct. Protestant Relig. i. vii. 212 And yet is it possible, to suppose that these writings should be extorted out of their hands by violence. 1786 E. Inchbald I'll tell you What v. i. 69 If you cou'd suppose how obstinate Sir George was. 1820 W. Lowry in Ann. Biogr. & Obituary (1825) 9 i. v. 105 I have read with attention Moses' account of the deluge, and tried to suppose that it was the first time I had heard or read of such a circumstance. 1855 Leisure Hour 12 Apr. 226/1 If Minnie had asked my advice I would have given it, and from what passed between us, not long ago, you may suppose what that advice would have been. 1894 A. M. Caird Daughters of Danaus xlv. 438 You can suppose what a joy the thought has been to me all along. 1936 E. Westermarck Future of Marriage in Western Civilization iv. 78 It is impossible to suppose that the feeling of anger will ever disappear from the human mind. 2006 E. D. Stevens Burnt Rec. xiv. 135 Then he tried to suppose how she would feel. †b. intransitive with of. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of imagination > imagine or visualize [verb (intransitive)] areachc1220 supposea1393 thinka1400 framea1529 to conceive of1570 humour1605 imagine1631 conceive1658 realize1658 visualize1871 the mind > mental capacity > belief > conjecture, guessing > form conjectures, guess [verb (intransitive)] divine1362 supposea1393 conjecta1425 guessc1535 rove1551 level1580 conjecture1587 to harp at1611 to venture at1623 to make a shot1840 reach1952 a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) i. l. 2196 (MED) The king supposeth of this wo, And feigneth as he noght ne wiste. c. transitive. With other constructions, esp. simple object, object and participle as complement, or object and infinitive. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > belief > conjecture, guessing > conjecture, guess [verb (transitive)] readOE ettlec1275 divine1362 areadc1374 conjectc1374 aima1382 imaginec1405 supposec1405 imagine1477 conjecture1530 guessa1535 harpa1616 foreguess1640 c1405 (c1395) G. Chaucer Wife of Bath's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) Prol. l. 760 Who wolde wene, or who wolde suppose The wo that in myn herte was? 1573 G. Gascoigne tr. Ariosto Supposes Prol., in Hundreth Sundrie Flowres sig. B.ij^v I suppose you shoulde haue hearde almoste the laste of our Supposes before you coulde haue supposed anye of them arighte. 1609 W. Shakespeare Sonnets lvii. sig. D4^v Nor dare I question..Where you may be, or your affaires suppose . View more context for this quotation a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 1 (1623) iv. i. 186 More furious raging broyles, Then yet can be imagin'd or suppos'd . View more context for this quotation 1706 M. Pix Adventures in Madrid i. 3 I can suppose her a Princess, and fill my Head with a Thousand pleasant Chimera's [sic]. 1742 H. Fielding Hist. Joseph Andrews II. ii. xiv. 274 You never can nor will suppose any thing equal to the Astonishment which seiz'd on Trulliber, as soon as Adams had ended his Speech. 1796 Trial R. T. Crossfield for High Treason 152 I ask..whether you can suppose conspirators not only not intimately acquainted, but hardly acquainted at all? 1839 Christian Beacon Nov. 162 If we can suppose a seal attached to a deed in which nothing is declared, such..would be the sacraments when no faith were written on the heart. 1875 Pop. Sci. Monthly Aug. 494/1 There is indeed a sort of wild and far-off possibility by which a little more work might be got out of a uniform-temperature universe, if we could suppose Clerk-Maxwell's demons..occupied in separating those particles of a heated gas which are moving faster than the average from those that are moving slower. 1912 T. D. Atklinson Eng. & Welsh Cathedrals 43 It is possible to suppose a work of greater genius; not one more pure and refined in its Doric simplicity. 1952 R. J. G. Mayor Reason & Common Sense ii. xii. 272 Its reduction of everything to mind, even if we could suppose this to be successfully achieved, would bring it no nearer to a knowledge of the existence of this or that particular mind. 2003 W. P. Head in D. R. Mets & W. P. Head Plotting True Course iii. 102 It is impossible to suppose the author's motives for these statements. †6. To expect, regard as likely to happen. a. transitive. With object clause, object and infinitive, or simple object: of a future external action or event. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > expectation > expect [verb (transitive)] weenOE weenc1000 thinklOE lookc1225 hopec1330 trusta1387 wait onc1390 supposea1393 to wait after ——1393 to look after ——c1400 thinkc1480 attend1483 suppone1490 expect1535 to expect for1538 aspect1548 respect1549 look1560 ween1589 attend1591 propose1594 await1608 to presume on, upon, or of1608 to look forwards1637 prospect1652 to look for ——a1677 augur1678 anticipate1749 to look to ——1782 spect1839 contemplate1841–8 to look forward1848 eye1979 a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) i. l. 226 If thou wolt my schrifte oppose Fro point to point, thanne I suppose, Ther schal nothing be left behinde. a1425 (?c1375) N. Homily Legendary (Harl.) in C. Horstmann Altengl. Legenden (1881) 2nd Ser. 61 Þe tre es funden, whilk we suppose Sall ger vs all oure pouwer lose. 1474 W. Caxton tr. Game & Playe of Chesse (1883) iii. iii. 100 He was ryght seeke And..men supposid hym to dye. a1513 H. Bradshaw Lyfe St. Werburge (1521) i. xii. sig. e.i Wofully he went, to his bed..Supposynge some dethe, withouten any remedy. 1525 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles II. ccxlviii. 762 It were to suppose, that if the erles of Huntyngton and of Salysbury were alyue..the Frenchmen then wolde soone passe ouer the see. b. transitive. With infinitive: of a future internal or personal action or event. Obsolete. ΚΠ a1400 (c1303) R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne (Harl.) l. 6970 Whan Seynt Ihon herde þat seye, Þat Troyle supposed for to deye. 1426 W. Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 7 I suppose to se yow on Palme Sunday. 1447 O. Bokenham Lives of Saints (Arun.) (1938) l. 163 Me dede dryue A cruel tyraunth in-to a fen..Wher I supposyd to haue myscheuyd. 1456 W. Worcester in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) II. 134 Yn the ende of thys terme y suppose to be at London. 1596 T. Danett tr. P. de Commynes Hist. ii. x. 70 The Lord of Hymbercourt, marched straight to the citie, supposing to enter without resistance. 1607 E. Grimeston tr. Gen. Inuentorie Hist. France ii. 378 He reckoned without his host, not supposing to see his father dead, & himself at the same instant in extreame danger of death. 1671 J. Milton Samson Agonistes 1443 Wherefore comes old Manoa in such hast..supposing here to find his Son..? View more context for this quotation 1760 Impostors Detected ii. v. l. 193 I never supposed..to have had this grant for nothing. 7. a. transitive. Of a person, system, etc.: to lay down or assume as true, take for granted, accept without question, presuppose. With simple object, object clause, object and complement, or object and infinitive. ΚΠ a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) i. l. 879 (MED) Sche, which al honour supposeth, The false Prestes thanne opposeth, And axeth be what observance Sche myhte most to the plesance Of godd that nyhtes reule kepe. c1475 (?c1400) J. Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. (1871) III. 437 Sequestre we al mannes lawe, supposynge Crists ordynaunce; al þe drede of florishyng of men of þe world; and þanne it sewiþ þat..alle þise religions of monkis, chanouns, and freris, shal slepe as þei diden in tyme of þe apostlis. a1500 tr. A. Chartier Traité de l'Esperance (Rawl.) (1974) 30 (MED) Nor aske non accompte..but suppose that His science is infallible, His providence inevitable, and His wille rightwisenesse. 1620 L. Andrewes Serm. Whitehall 16 Apr. 34 It supposes euery body, all the world bound to take notice of Him whom we looke for, onely by saying, Him, though wee neuer tell his name. 1688 S. Johnson Of Magistracy ii. 2 It supposes Mens Lands to be already Butted and Bounded, when it forbids removing the antient Land marks. 1799 Med. & Physical Jrnl. 1 198 ‘The Italians will always object,’ says he, ‘that you suppose what requires to be demonstrated.’ 1818 W. Cruise Digest Laws Eng. Real Prop. (ed. 2) VI. 273 The law supposes that a man may vary his intent, even while he is writing his will. 1835 E. D. Mansfield in Trans. 4th Ann. Meeting Western Literary Inst. 324 He acted throughout as if things were as they should be, and not as they are. He worked to make the world altogether righteous by means which supposed it already such. 1875 B. Jowett in tr. Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) V. 132 Plato seems to suppose that life should be passed wholly in the enjoyment of divine things. 1921 Pedagogical Seminary 28 40 This argument supposes that the sole purpose of sex education is to prevent dissipation; but this is only one aim. 1984 F. C. R. Thee Julius Africanus & Early Christian View of Magic i. 16 Either idea supposes some knowledge of the work by Jerome. 1994 F. G. Gale Polit. Literacy 54 Legal positivism is related to formalism in that it also supposes law to have an existence independent of human interpretation and judicial intervention. 2003 T. Rockmore Before & after Hegel i. 26 Like the majority of philosophers since the ancient Greeks, Maimon simply supposes that it is necessary to avoid all circular reasoning. b. transitive. Of an action, condition, fact: to involve as a ground or basis; to require as a precondition; to imply, presuppose. With simple object, object clause, object and infinitive, or †object and complement. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > belief > supposition, surmise > taking for granted, presumption > assume, presuppose [verb (transitive)] > of actions, etc. : require as basis presupposec1443 supposea1475 presupponea1599 a1475 Sidrak & Bokkus (Laud) (1999) II. l. 9815 The rede supposeth regalte And is hewe of grete dignite. 1535 W. Marshall tr. Marsilius of Padua Def. of Peace xvii. f. 38 This supposed that there were many gouernours and rulers not reduced vnto some one heed. 1593 J. Balmford Short & Plaine Dialogue conc. Vnlawfulnes Cards sig. A4^v A Lot in the nature thereof doth as necessarily suppose the speciall prouidence and determining presence of God. 1660 Bp. J. Taylor Worthy Communicant Introd. Some take it [sc. the Holy Communion] to strengthen their faith, others to beget it, and yet many affirm that it does neither, but supposes faith beforehand as a disposition. 1662 E. Stillingfleet Origines Sacræ ii. i. §1 Mans obligation to obedience unto God, doth necessarily suppose his originall to be from him. 1681 J. Dryden Absalom & Achitophel 12 Lavish grants suppose a Monarch tame. 1699 R. Bentley Diss. Epist. Phalaris (new ed.) 447 These plainly refer to and suppose one another, as a half Crown English supposes a Crown. 1729 W. Law Serious Call ix. 122 Covetousness..supposes a foolish and unreasonable state of mind. 1759 S. Johnson Prince of Abissinia II. xxvii. 13 Patience must suppose pain. 1773 R. Graves Spiritual Quixote I. i. xi. 34 The suffering for one's opinions gives a man an air of consequence in his own eyes; as it supposes him to think for himself. 1864 A. Bain Senses & Intellect (ed. 2) ii. iii. 579 Heat supposes cold. 1909 W. James Pluralistic Universe vi. 244 This treatment supposes life to already have accomplished itself, for the concepts..are retrospective and post mortem. 1971 S. E. McEvenne Narr. Style Priestly Writer iv. 181 All of this activity..supposes the work of ‘a scribe skilled in the law of Moses’..or of ‘ministers of the word’..and most probably schools or centres where the texts can be studied, copied, edited etc. 2008 D. M. Harland Exploring Moon ii. 37 It was argued..that the crater marked the spot where a semi-molten ‘volcanic bomb’ fell after being ejected from an explosive vent, but this supposed that the Moon had recently been active and that there was a local vent. c. transitive. Of a person: to presume the existence or presence of. Now rare. ΚΠ 1593 T. Lodge Phillis sig. E5 Arte shall neuer be supposed. 1696 W. Whiston New Theory of Earth iv. 295 A Rain-bow were seldom or never to be suppos'd before the Deluge. 1860 J. Ruskin Mod. Painters V. 264 An adoration of shepherds with nothing to adore,..the Christ being ‘supposed’ at the side. 1869 W. E. Gladstone Juventus Mundi iii. 89 We have no reason to suppose, among the races actually named, any radical difference of language. 2008 J. Dosil Eating Disorders in Athletes iv. 89 If the attitudes displayed in all aspects are coherent with reasonable personal and sporting development, then there is no need to suppose an eating disorder. †8. transitive. Law. To state, allege, esp. formally in an indictment. Also intransitive, parenthetically with as. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > statement > assertion without proof > [verb (transitive)] ledgea1300 vouch1390 allege?a1400 suppose1411 pretendc1449 to-layc1450 reckonc1480 compare1536 obtend1573 make1593 represent1651 to trump up1697 1411 Rolls of Parl.: Henry IV (Electronic ed.) Parl. Nov. 1411 §13. m. 14 Certein commune of pasture..whiche the sayd lord..claymes..as it is supposed by the same bille. 1485–6 Rolls of Parl.: Henry VII (Electronic ed.) Parl. Nov. 1485 1st Roll §26. m. 18 The..duke affermyd a byll of trespas..supposyng by the same byll that the seid Thomas Thorp shulde have taken [= had taken]..dyvers goodys. 1528–30 tr. T. Littleton Tenures (new ed.) f. xxxvii He maye haue a wryt..supposynge by his wryt that his aduersary hath entred in to the landes or tenementes. 1651 tr. J. Kitchin Courts Leet (1653) 477 The Demandant shall not answer to the Barr, nor to the Voucher, but ought to maintain his Writ, that they are Tenants, as the Writ supposes. 1672 J. Dalton Let. 20 Jan. in L. Cheves Shaftesbury Papers (2000) 382 Some questions have arisen in whose name Originall and Judiciall Writts and Indictments of Treason and Felony should be made and in such Writts and Indictments contra cujus pacem should be supposed. 1795 Acts & Laws Mass. xli. 482 There shall be one or more Trustees summoned, who shall not have come into Court and discharged themselves upon oath of being Trustees, as supposed in the Writ. 9. To entertain as an idea or notion sufficiently probable to be practically assumed as true, or to be at least admitted as possibly true, on account of consistency with known facts; to infer hypothetically; to incline to think, sometimes mistakenly.Not always clearly distinguishable from sense 3, esp. in early use. a. transitive. With object and infinitive. (a) In the active. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > existence > intrinsicality or inherence > inhere in or be an attribute of [verb (transitive)] > attribute or ascribe as an attribute puta1382 applya1393 suppose?a1425 ascribec1475 attach?1531 attribute1533 adscribe1534 assign?1541 allude1561 repose1561 predicate1614 ?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (N.Y. Acad. Med.) f. 10^v (MED) Þat basillare þat is aboue þe palate þe which som man supposeþ to be of þe ouercheke. 1583 G. Peckham True Rep. Newfound Landes v. sig. E.iv He..discribeth that beast at large, supposing it to be a certaine kinde of Buffe. 1683 Dutch Rogue 186 She brought in a great Iron money-chest fill'd with stones and other ponderous materials, which he supposed to be money. 1745 P. Thomas True Jrnl. Voy. South-Seas 115 One Man on Horseback, whom they supposed to be a Centinal, or Outscout. 1808 Duke of Wellington Let. to Castlereagh 5 Sept. in Dispatches (1837) IV. 142 This army..would be the operating army against what I have supposed to be the French operating army. 1856 J. A. Froude Hist. Eng. I. iv. 278 They supposed themselves to have gained a victory. 1916 Fur News Mar. 48/1 On November 4 I started for my first fox hunt, as I supposed it to be; but to my surprise it turned out to be a cat hunt. 1963 J. W. Doberstein tr. H. Thielicke Encounter with Spurgeon xv. 211 With genial temper, and an evident desire to benefit me, he marked down most relentlessly everything which he supposed me to have said incorrectly. 2003 P. D. Smith Seas that Mourn xvii. 139 As Jimmy stood his lookout watch that night atop the flying bridge, he studied the area where he supposed the city to be. (b) In passive. In later use, frequently with the implication that the action or state is likely or expected, and hence passing into sense 13. ΘΚΠ society > morality > duty or obligation > [verb (transitive)] > have (a duty) haveeOE sustain?1406 suppose1614 1614 S. Purchas Pilgrimage (ed. 2) iv. vi. 368 Zoroaster..a Chaldæan, supposed to liue in the time of Abraham. a1665 J. Goodwin Πλήρωμα τὸ Πνευματικόv (1670) ii. 24 The proper opportunity for grace to shew it self, is either: 1. A flat or dead irrelativeness in point of merit in him to whom grace is shewn, or to be shewn, in reference unto him that is supposed to shew grace, [etc.] 1687 A. Lovell tr. J. de Thévenot Trav. into Levant ii. 170 He did not do as the rest did, who are all supposed to understand their Trade. 1727 J. Swift Let. to Writer of Occas. Paper in Wks. (1765) VIII. i. 111 You are not supposed to be very gracious among those who are most able to hurt you. 1748 Defoe's Tour Great Brit. (ed. 4) III. 292 Alderney, supposed by Camden, to be the Arica of Antoninus. 1770 Universal Mag. Apr. 181/1 The reputation of public measures depends upon the Minister, who is responsible, not upon the King, whose private opinions are not supposed to have any weight against the advice of his Council. 1859 C. Dickens Tale of Two Cities iii. x. 223 We saw the man, who was supposed to be at the gate, standing silent behind him. 1866 J. Bryce Holy Rom. Empire (new ed.) xvi. 317 Relics supposed to be those of Bartholomew the Apostle. 1875 B. Jowett in tr. Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) IV. 130 He may be supposed to have thought more than he said. 1911 Mariner′s Mirror 1 339 These might be supposed to be the legs of a lift-crowfoot. 1964 E. Salisbury Weeds & Aliens (ed. 2) iii. 72 Rayless Mayweed..is supposed to have come to this country from Oregon. 2001 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 1 Nov. 47/3 Phlogiston, the substance that was supposed to be given off by inflammable substances on burning. b. transitive. With object clause. Often conveying diffidence, hesitancy, reluctance, or uncertainty in making an observation, esp. about oneself (cf. sense 9e). (a) In general use. ΚΠ c1425 Bk. Found. St. Bartholomew's (1923) 4 (MED) He supposid that God toke vengeawnce of hym for his synnys a-mongis owte-landisshe peple. 1591 Troublesome Raigne Iohn sig. B3^v Some money matter, which you suppose burns in the bottome of my chest. 1603 R. Johnson tr. G. Botero Hist. Descr. Worlde 2 Neither let any man suppose that from wilines without force nor force without iudgment, can proceed any proiect of worthy consideration. 1615 G. Sandys Relation of Journey 8 It being supposed that Cicero was there buried. 1704 R. Steele Lying Lover ii. 31 I suppose I was used like other Children.—They clap'd me on a Skul-cap. 1710 J. Swift Jrnl. to Stella 29 Sept. (1948) I. 33 I drink no aile (I suppose you mean ale). 1766 Ld. Holland in J. H. Jesse G. Selwyn & his Contemp. (1843) II. 19 I suppose Lord March has a horse runs there, as I see he had at Ipswich. 1814 F. Burney Wanderer II. xxviii. 210 I don't well know how this happened; but the chimney-piece looks so like my own,-—and the fire was so comfortable,—that I suppose I thought I was at home. 1821 W. Scott Kenilworth I. x. 250 He..darted away from him with the swiftness of the wind, when his pursuer supposed he had nearly run him down. 1828 W. Scott Aunt Margaret's Mirror ii ‘That rascally quack would make my fortune were he to stay in Edinburgh,’ said the graduate... ‘I suppose I must not ask your ladyship anything about this Italian warlock's proceedings?’ 1852 H. B. Stowe Uncle Tom's Cabin II. xxii. 64 Where do you suppose New Jerusalem is, Uncle Tom? 1861 T. Hughes Tom Brown at Oxf. III. xvi. 283 ‘I suppose I may light up,’ said Drysdale..pulling out his cigar-case. 1865 J. Lubbock Prehist. Times ii. 45 It has been supposed that tin was at one time abundant in Spain. 1872 C. D. Warner Saunterings 22 I did not see it, although I suppose I could have done so for a franc to the beadle. 1903 W. R. Hodder Daughter of Dawn xxviii. 324 Well, I suppose there's nothing to do now..but sit down here quietly and wait for the end. 1943 Life 25 Oct. 29/2 I suppose I knew this was not a maneuver so I tried harder to keep my head. 2005 Guardian 21 Sept. ii. 2/3 It is rational to suppose that Mars could become a stepping stone to the outer planets. (b) In idiomatic use. do you suppose..?: used to express an indignant rejection of a suggestion or proposal. you may suppose..: you may be fairly sure (now rare). I don't suppose..?: introducing a declarative clause, used to express a question tentatively. ΚΠ 1796 M. G. Lewis Monk I. i. 38 ‘How, condé?’ said Lorenzo in an angry voice; ‘do you suppose me base enough to have influenced my sister's retirement?’ 1800 R. Warner Walk Western Counties Eng. iv. 101 When I left off play, I found I had got back my own half-guinea, the guinea I had borrowed, and fifteen shillings in good silver, after paying my part of the charge for the day. You may suppose I was not a little happy at this change of fortune. 1837 C. Dickens Pickwick Papers (1838) II. iii. 28 ‘Do you suppose, Mr. Sawyer,’ said Mrs. Raddle , elevating her voice for the information of the neighbours, ‘do you suppose that I'm a-going day after day to let a fellar occupy my lodgings, as never thinks of paying his rent?’ 1883 R. L. Stevenson Treasure Island iii. xiii. 109 ‘Jim, Jim!’ I heard him shouting. But you may suppose I paid no heed. 1908 R. Bagot Anthony Cuthbert v. 43 I was not thinking of myself, but of you. Do you suppose that I want you to remain unmarried in order to secure my own position? 1925 F. S. Fitzgerald Great Gatsby ii. 32 I'd like to get one of those police dogs; I don't suppose you got that kind? 1954 M. de la Roche Variable Winds at Jalna vii. 120 ‘I did not,’ he declared, with violence... ‘Do you suppose that I would cross the ocean to see Adeline married to a man I detest?’ 1995 S. Nye Best of Men behaving Badly (2000) 4th Ser. Episode 6. 163/2 It's been three days now. I don't suppose you fancy a quickie? 2010 A. Karpol Gift 632 So what do you suppose, that I'm some kind of witch because I dream? Is that what you think? c. transitive. With other constructions. (a) With object and complement. ΚΠ c1430 N. Love Mirror Blessed Life (Brasenose e.9) (1908) 59 By that symple siȝt supposynge hem disceyued. 1578 W. Hunnis Hyue Full of Hunnye xxxviii. f. 95^v Supposing her a common Fylth as by the way doth lye. 1637 J. Milton Comus 20 Supposing him some neighbour villager. 1651 T. Hobbes Leviathan ii. xxvi. 142 He that supposeth himself injured. 1671 R. Bohun Disc. Wind 302 These Miraculous Emotions of the Atmosphere can hardly be supposed from the agitation of common vapours of Air. 1779 Mirror No. 8. ⁋3 I supposed his present of little intrinsic value. c1780 W. Cowper Jackdaw i There is a bird who, by his coat,..Might be suppos'd a crow. 1821 W. Scott Kenilworth II. ix. 219 Those foibles which are chiefly supposed proper to the female sex. 1837 J. G. Wilkinson Manners & Customs Anc. Egyptians (1841) I. ii. 65 M. Champollion supposes them the Scythians. c1872–4 E. A. Duyckinck Portrait Gallery Eminent Men & Women II. 545/1 They supposed him a good office man, but hardly equal to the high responsibility of keeping the roads in order. 1898 J. A. Altsheler Herald of West xx. 225 I had supposed him off at sea somewhere dodging the English ships, and was astonished to see him there in Washington. 1939 Fortune Oct. 52/1 To focus the technique of scientific sampling upon the opinions of one relatively small class—the businessman—might be supposed a simpler task than measuring the opinions of the whole nation. 1943 L. Morris Threshold in Sun iii. 79 So vivacious seemed the enterprise of learning, that everyone supposed it on the threshold of another Renaissance. 2005 J. Barfoot Luck (2006) 13 They suppose her more or less immunized against irritation and insult. (b) With simple object (chiefly pronoun). ΚΠ 1526 Bible (Tyndale) Luke vii. f. lxxxvj Which of them tell me, will love hym moost? Simon answered, and sayde: I suppose that he to whom he forgave moost. 1596 M. Drayton Tragicall Legend Robert Duke of Normandy sig. B4^v Reporting that which thou doost but suppose. 1719 Philos. Trans. 1717–19 (Royal Soc.) 30 1022 Length of time has discovered that this Satellites motion is a small matter swifter than M. Cassini had supposed it. 1799 W. Taylor in Monthly Rev. 29 App. 556 Does Mr. Scott suppose his undertakings so consequential, that every Reader of Poetry in his Majesty's dominions must needs have known that he wrote for Seaton's prize? No—Mr. Scott himself could not surely suppose that—and yet he must have supposed it too. 1834 Narr. 2nd Voy. Capt. Ross Arctic Regions (House of Commons) App. 137 When you say Frobisher's Strait is fictitious, do you believe there is no sea between Resolution Island and the main land?—Certainly I suppose that; but there are two Frobisher's Straits. 1896 ‘M. Twain’ Personal Recoll. Joan of Arc ii. xvi. 225 I had always supposed that torture brought out the truth—everybody supposed it. 1994 G. Wolfe Lake of Long Sun v, in Litany of Long Sun (2000) 367 ‘Where do they live?’..‘On the hill, I guess.’ ‘That's what I'd always supposed myself.’ d. intransitive. Parenthetically, with or without as. Also transitive in passive with non-referential it as subject. ΚΠ 1483 W. Caxton tr. J. de Voragine Golden Legende f. cclxxi/2 Whan he was sent of oure lord to preche, as I suppose, he herd how oure lorde sayd to hym, go my disciple to preche, voyde out of this Countre. 1528 W. Tyndale Obed. Christen Man f. lx But as oure Bisshopes heare not Christes voyce, so se they him not presente: and therfore make them a God on the erth, of they kynde (I suppose) of Aarons calfe. For he bringeth forth no other frute but bulles. 1548 Hall's Vnion: Edward V f. xii Then maye no manne lawfully (I suppose) take my warde from me out of this place. 1615 W. Lawson Country Housewifes Garden (1626) 7 The sap is the life of the tree,..neither doth the tree in winter (as is supposed) want his sap, no more then mans body his bloud. 1634 M. Sandys Prudence x. 138 Now, I suppose, my Striplings are formally clad, and togated, newly arrived at the Vniversitie. 1680 J. Dryden Kind Keeper ii. i. 18 You mean, I suppose, the peaking Creature, the Marry'd Woman, with a sideling look. 1707 G. Farquhar Beaux Stratagem i. 2 Bon[niface]. This way, this way, Gentlemen... Aim[well]. You're my Landlord, I suppose? 1796 R. Bage Hermsprong I. viii. 89 ‘Do you know, Sir, what a fortune Mr. Sumelin can give his daughters?’ ‘Oh,—half a million each, I suppose.’ 1828 W. Scott Fair Maid of Perth iii, in Chron. Canongate 2nd Ser. III. 53 Tell us how this tale ended—with Conachar's escape to the Highlands, I suppose? 1859 Ld. Tennyson Enid in Idylls of King 26 If, as I suppose, your nephew fights In next day's tourney. 1885 ‘Mrs. Alexander’ At Bay xi. 177 He fell, and it is supposed was instantaneously killed. 1920 Theosophical Path Mar. 280 Soon we may see an insistence upon the Inner which, it may be supposed, later Confucianism, drifting towards externalism, would hardly have enjoyed. 1990 R. Critchfield Among British i. 27 Early on, one supposes, Mrs. Thatcher spotted the sea change: as smokestack industry died away, so did the Labour Party's support. 2007 N. N. Dergunova tr. G. M. Sotntseva Morphol. Auditory & Vestibular Organs in Mammals i. ii. 79 The following structures are discernible in the tectorial membrane: the axial part,..and the external part, which, as it is supposed, is connected with the Hensen cells. e. intransitive. With object implied in clause of comparison. Also with so or not; in responses to questions, assertions, or proposals often conveying uncertainty, diffidence, or reluctance (cf. sense 9b). (a) Generally. ΚΠ 1549 J. Bale Dialoge betwene Two Chyldren sig. A.iii^v If Adam thus receyued thys gospel, & so taught it vnto his posterite, it hath continued much longer then I supposed. 1615 G. Wither Shepherd's Hunting Ded., in Juvenilia (1622) II. 104 I was persuaded to entertain a much better conceit of the times than I lately conceived, and assured myself, that Virtue had far more followers than I supposed. 1649 J. Sadler Rights of Kingdom (1682) 291 His Politick Capacity never, but his Person ever in Nonage, or supposed so in Law. 1680 ‘Philalethes’ tr. G. Buchanan De Jure Regni apud Scotos (1689) 21 But I expect a far other thing than you suppose. 1702 J. Milner Animadversions M. Le Clerc's Refl. iii. 96 Did his memory fail him in this? I suppose not; but if he erred, the fault was in his Judgment. 1757 Gentleman's Mag. Apr. 174/2 I..am particularly happy in not dying the mean, despicable, ignominious wretch, my enemies would have had the world believe me. I hope I am not supposed so now. 1779 Mirror No. 8. ⁋4 That Mirror..is of higher value than you suppose. 1814 Proc. Gen. Court Martial Mr. Assistant Surgeon Macdonald 23 Major Frith..asked me if I thought Mr. Macdonald saw us? I answered, ‘I suppose not.’ 1844 Q. Rev. June 283 Our assertions upon this subject..have been contradicted, somewhat peremptorily... Our respected assailant..differs from us much less than he supposes. 1885 ‘Mrs. Alexander’ At Bay ix. 141 ‘His sorrow must have been great.’ ‘I suppose so.’ 1904 F. Lynde Grafters ix. 131 ‘You don't mean to say there is any doubt about our ability to do it?’ ‘Oh, no; I suppose not, if it comes to a show-down.’ 1939 G. R. Leighton Five Cities i. 42 There was more to the miner's saying ‘weak in the head and strong in the back’ than you might suppose. 1965 Boys' Life Nov. 54/2 ‘Up here,..a fella doesn't hafta read books and magazines to find out about huntin'’. ‘No, I suppose not.’ 2003 Attitude Jan. 111/2 Q. Are you a particularly gay-friendly group? Gaz: I suppose so, it's hard to know though. But yeah, I don't see why not. (b) colloquial. I suppose: short for I suppose so. ΚΠ 1959 ‘E. McBain’ 'Til Death v. 67 ‘I think that's wise, don't you?’ ‘I suppose.’ 1976 ‘Trevanian’ Main (1977) x. 206 ‘Is she a viable?’.. ‘I suppose. She had reason and opportunity.’ 2005 T. M. McNally Goat Bridge (2007) 165 You must have friends, Stephen said. Yes, I suppose. f. transitive. With adverbial: to bring or send by supposing. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > belief > supposition, surmise > suppose, surmise [verb (transitive)] > effect by supposing suppose1647 1647 N. Ward Simple Cobler Aggawam 35 I am not without some contrivalls in my patching braines; but I had rather suppose them to powder, than expose them to preregular..judgements. 1732 Present State Republick Lett. 10 390 Our Author is aware, that it may be objected, this is not the true Reason; but that we cannot suppose it away, because it is an essential Attribute of the necessarily existing Being. 1747 S. Richardson Clarissa I. viii. 44 They ask not for my approbation, intending, as it should seem, to suppose me into their will. 1834 Relig. Monitor Feb. 265 We have before treated the voluntary slave and the disinterested master as most probably ideal, or imaginary beings, but we shall now join with the protestors in supposing them into existence, and summon them as witnesses of the lawfulness of slavery. 1865 R. Potter Elem. Treat. Optics (ed. 3) ix. 134 Since the only effect of the plane mirror is to reflect the pencils from the large mirror to the side of the tube, we may suppose it away, and the light to pass to the eye-glass directly in the axis of the telescope. 1889 Cent. Dict. at Abstraction The act of abstracting or concentrating the attention on a part of a complex idea and neglecting the rest or supposing it away. 1978 J. Hillman in Spring 157 Instead of translating it and supposing it into one or another meaning, I have amplified it by letting it speak in multiple restatements. 2000 S. Sturgeon Matters of Mind 94 We can make no sense of what would be the case if our norms failed to bite. To suppose them away is to generate incoherence. g. intransitive. To make suppositions, speculate. Usually with reference to an earlier transitive use of ‘suppose’. ΚΠ 1860 H. F. Brock Old Robin & his Prov. i. 22 We must all try to emulate Happy Nancy, and never suppose. 1864 C. Dickens Our Mutual Friend (1865) I. i. iii. 17 ‘Do you suppose there has been much violence..among these cases?’ ‘I don't suppose at all about it..I ain't one of the supposing sort.’ 1912 W. P. Hastings Educ., Old & New ix. 87 This most excellent rule which all good teachers have adopted for their self-government: Never Suppose But Prove. 2001 R. A. Freeman Myst. Angelina Frood xvi. 212 ‘What do you suppose he wants me for?’ I asked. ‘I never suppose in regard to Thorndyke,’ he replied. †10. transitive. With infinitive: to purpose, intend. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > will > intention > intend [verb (transitive)] willeOE meaneOE minteOE i-muntec1000 thinkOE ettlea1200 intenta1300 meanc1330 forn-castc1374 intendc1374 ettlea1400 drive1425 proposec1425 purpose1433 attend1455 suppose1474 pretend1477 mindc1478 minda1513 pretence1565 appurpose1569 to drive at ——1574 thought to1578 hight1579 pretent1587 fore-intend1622 pre-intend1647 design1655 study1663 contemplate1794 purport1803 1474 W. Caxton tr. Game & Playe of Chesse (1883) ii. i. 22 Whan he sawe Alixandre he supposid to haue axid his requeste. c1500 Melusine (1895) 224 It is the kinge of Anssay..with theire puyssaunce that supposen to goo reyse the siege of praghe. ?1620 S. Rowlands Paire of Spy-knaues sig. C4 This iron-trader Enter'd the Hulke, supposing to vnlade her. 1798 Gentleman's Mag. Mar. 249/1 He supposed to look for the jolly-boat, as she had been previously let down with men in her. Special grammatical uses of sense 1. 11.** In imperative. a. transitive. Introducing a hypothetical statement or case: assume, imagine. (a) With object clause. Also: what if? Also intransitive with object implied. ΚΠ c1350 (a1333) William of Shoreham Poems (1902) 145 Suppose here hijs [= is] o iustyse, God and truwe. c1485 ( G. Hay Bk. Law of Armys (2005) 144 Suppos men wald argu this mater sayand how mycht he be bathe juge & party? a1513 J. Irland Meroure of Wyssdome (1965) II. 77 Suppos that mony cornis of diuers corne be castin in a erd that the distinccioun can nocht be maid na knawin betuix thame ȝit quhen thai grow ilkane schawis the proper natur and froit. 1595 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 3 iv. i. 14 Cla. Theile take No offence. Edw. Suppose they doe. 1631 G. Chapman Warres Pompey & Caesar iv. i. sig. G4^v Cato. But is not euery iust man to him selfe The perfect'st law? Ath. Suppose. 1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost ii. 237 Suppose he should relent..with what eyes could we Stand in his presence. View more context for this quotation 1707 J. Ward Young Mathematician's Guide App. 429 Suppose the Length of a Brewer's Tun, Back or Cooler be 217,5 Inches. 1729 W. Law Serious Call ix. 128 Suppose I had pressed an universal temperance, does not religion enough justify such a doctrine? 1736 Bp. J. Butler Analogy of Relig. ii. v. 196 A Person..breaks his Limbs, suppose. 1787 E. Inchbald tr. A.-J. Damaniaut Midnight Hour ii. 31 Culverin. Of what use is my carbine, then? Col. Ambush. To frighten him. Culverin. Suppose he should resist? 1868 Sunday Mag. 1 July 647 (heading) Just suppose. 1871 R. Browning Prince Hohenstiel-Schwangau 1 Suppose my Œdipus should lurk at last Under a pork-pie hat and crinoline. 2006 S. Waters Night Watch iii. 123 She didn't know whether or not to believe him about the door. Suppose he had forced it? (b) With object and infinitive. ΚΠ 1630 J. Taylor Praise, Antiqvitie, & Commoditie of Beggerie in Wks. i. 100/1 Suppose a Begger to be in the shape of a maundering or wandering souldier. 1678–9 E. Stillingfleet Serm. 7 Mar. in Wks. (1710) I. 257 Suppose a man to have riches and honours. 1734 J. Ward Young Mathematician's Guide (ed. 6) 305 Suppose the ∆ BCD to be an Isosceles ∆. 1821 Philos. Mag. 57 45 Suppose fig. 4. to represent a galvanic arc. 1889 T. Craig Treat. Linear Differential Equations I. xiii. 482 Suppose the quantics..to be adjoint. 1903 Boston Med. & Surg. Jrnl. 18 Aug. 193/2 Suppose a person to be versed in all the branches of nursing which do now or might in the future be supposed to constitute an educated nurse, would it then be legitimate for that person to take the initiative in the care of the critically ill? 1963 N. T. Gridgeman in Eval. Protein Quality (U.S. National Academy of Science–National Research Council) iii. 37 Suppose one to be a control and consider the difference between the control mean and each of the other test means. 2007 Vanity Fair June 95/2 Suppose the latter to be true. (c) With object and complement. ΚΠ 1698 J. Fryer New Acct. E.-India & Persia 391 Suppose Twenty Mules, Thirty Asses,..more or less committed to their Care. 1766 J. Fordyce Serm. Young Women I. iii. 85 Suppose me speaking to you as a brother. 1796 R. Bage Hermsprong III. xx. 173 Suppose me the child of an ancient Grecian parent, who, not chusing to support me, had..exposed me to perish. 1821 W. Scott Kenilworth I. vi. 142 You would have me believe that my noble lord is jealous—Suppose it true, I know a cure for jealousy. 1855 R. Browning In a Balcony 280 Suppose her some poor keeper of a school. 1907 Nation (N.Y.) 25 July 70/1 Suppose him the Democratic nominee, and the issue would be thrust in his face from every stump in the land. His party would have to bear the odium. 1963 tr. M. V. Fedorjuk in Amer. Math. Soc. Transl. 34 233 The Lemma holds for m = 1. Suppose it true for m. b. transitive. Scottish. Passing into conj. If; esp. even if, albeit, though, although. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > testing > attestation, witness, evidence > qualification > on condition that [conjunction] > although thoughc888 thoughc1050 allc1225 when1297 how so?c1330 althougha1350 ifa1400 if alla1400 though all?a1400 andc1400 suppose1400 albeit?a1425 albec1450 wella1470 even though1697 1400 in W. Fraser Mem. Maxwells of Pollok (1863) I. 140 Pollok, Murraf [etc.]..the qhwylk..the sayd Robert has gyffyn tyl hys forsayd brothir thankfully suppose it was talȝit tyl hym of befor. c1480 (a1400) St. Mary of Egypt 249 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) I. 303 Suppos at I mane synful be, a-byde a lytil & spek with me. 1489 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (Adv.) i. 2 Storys to rede ar delitabill, Suppos that thai be nocht bot fabill. a1500 Lancelot of Laik (1870) 1070 His hawbrek helpit, suppos he had no scheld. 1533 J. Gau tr. C. Pedersen Richt Vay 51 Thay cuir noth supos God haiff the hewine alen, sua that thay mycht lewe heir sa lang as thay vald. c1560 A. Scott Poems (S.T.S.) ix. 2 Considdir, hairt, my trew intent, Suppois I am no^t eloquent. c1560 A. Scott Poems (S.T.S.) xi. 27 To Venus als suppois ȝe wyle thame—Ressoun; Bot be ȝe frawdfull and begyle thame—Tressoun. 1584 King James VI & I Ess. Prentise Poesie sig. Liij Thir indifferent wordis, composit of dyuers syllabes, are rare, suppose in monosyllabes, commoun. 1589 T. Lupton Dreame of Deuill & Diues sig. D.vi^v But suppose there were no hell (as euery good christian doth beleeue there is one) what harme were it to thinke there were a Hell. a1628 A. Simson Serm. John in Sel. Biogr. (1845) I. 124 He giveth the name of the light to John, suppose the light John had, he had it from Christ. 1775 A. Shirrefs Christmas Feast xiv, in Poems (1790) 213 For John o' pipe-skill wasna scant, Suppose I say 't. 1867 E. Allardyce Goodwife at Home xiii. 7 I wyte her squeelin's nae been hain't, Suppose I say't mysel. 1969 in Sc. Nat. Dict. at Suppose [Aberdeenshire] I wadna tell you suppose I kent. 1988 G. Lamb Orkney Wordbk. at cited word Suppose I hid (had) aal the money in the world I widna dae hid. †c. With object implied and parenthetically. Often: for example, as, say (also as suppose). (a) transitive. Obsolete. ΚΠ 1577 H. I. tr. H. Bullinger 50 Godlie Serm. I. i. i. sig. A.iv^v/1 Moses..was borne..of those fathers, whome God had appointed to be witnesses of his will,..suppose Amram, Kahad, Jacob, Sem, Methusalem, and Adam. 1658 S. Hudson Vindic. Esence & Unity Church-Catholick Visible (ed. 2) i. 7 Now draw a word (as suppose head) from its natural and proper signification to a civil use, and head will signifie a King. 1720 J. Raphson & S. Cunn tr. I. Newton Universal Arithmetick 83 The best way is to seek other Quantities that are not ambiguous, by which these may be determin'd, as suppose their Sum, or Difference, or Rectangle. 1747 W. Hooson Miners Dict. sig. D^v When they have done Measuring, they account the whole to be so many Bouts, as suppose 24 Bouts and one half, that's Sixty-four Loads. 1800 W. Scott Let. 22 Apr. (1932) I. 97 To treat with the proprietors of some established paper—suppose the Caledonian Mercury. 1831 D. Brewster Treat. Optics iv. 38 M N is a dense medium (suppose glass). (b) intransitive with complement. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > kind or sort > individual character or quality > an individual case or instance > be instanced or exemplified [verb (intransitive)] > for instance suppose1666 let us say1927 the mind > attention and judgement > testing > attestation, witness, evidence > qualification > make conditions, stipulate [verb (intransitive)] > used to qualify example suppose1666 let us say1817 1666 J. Wallis Let. 25 Apr. in R. Boyle Corr. (2001) III. 144 There are these three notorious Observations made of the Reciprocation of Tides. First the Diurnal Reciprocation... Secondly, the Menstrual; whereby in one Synodical period of the Moon, suppose from Full-moon to Full-moon. 1666 G. Harvey Morbus Anglicus xxvii. 149 The Pericardium is likewise summon'd by Petr. Salius..for an apparent cause of a tabes or Marcour, if anywise affected, as suppose inflammed, or pustulated. 1736 Bp. J. Butler Analogy of Relig. i. i. 12 That we are to exist hereafter in a State as different suppose from our present [etc.]. 1747 J. Smith Mem. Wool I. l. 235 But whenever the Price of English Wool in England, by taking off the Prohibition..should raise the Market at Home, as, suppose, to 9 d. instead of 6 d. the Case would be greatly altered. 1762 H. Home Elem. Crit. (ed. 3) I. v. 240 It has been explained why smoke ascending in a calm day, suppose from a cottage in a wood, is an agreeable object. 1807 C. Hutton Course Math. II. 7 In the Third Method, Or Instrumentally, as suppose by the log. lines on one side of the common two-foot scales. 1857 J. Ruskin Polit. Econ. Art 241 But if the Government issued so many spotted stones that it was impossible for the body of men they employed to comply with the orders; as, suppose, if they only employed twelve men, [etc.] d. transitive. colloquial. With object clause. Introducing a suggestion or proposal. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > belief > suggestion, proposal > suggest [verb (transitive)] suggest1526 prepose?1541 propose1566 propound1585 offer1660 vote1698 suppose1762 1762 C. Johnstone Reverie I. ii. i. 129 Suppose we take Stanza with us. A poet should be a judge of painting. Call him in. 1779 Mirror No. 34. ⁋9 ‘Suppose one of the ladies should give us an English song,’ said I. ‘Tis a good motion,’ said Mr. Bearskin, ‘I second it’. 1806 J. Beresford Miseries Human Life I. ii. 30 Suppose we pass to some of the less ignoble Miseries of the country. 1844 D. Jerrold Story of Feather (1873) xxviii. 191 Suppose you go to sleep, that you may get up in time enough. 1871 Galaxy Jan. 47 It is too dark here—suppose we go in where it is light. 1934 F. L. Lucas tr. M. Mauron Mount Peacock x. 133 Suppose you just begin by catching that black cur there, that's routing up all the refuse. 1961 N. O. Lurie Mountain Wolf Woman (1966) v. 39 My husband said, ‘Suppose we go too?’ ‘All right,’ I said. 2006 J. Shirley Subterranean 95 Suppose we work together to get out of here. 12. transitive. In present participle supposing. a. Introducing a hypothetical statement or case: assuming; = sense 11a. (a) With object and infinitive. ΚΠ a1513 R. Fabyan New Cronycles Eng. & Fraunce (1516) I. ix. f. vii^v It shulde seme y^t Troynouant or London was buylded before the sayd Cytie of yorke aboute an hondreth and .xl. yeres supposynge the Cytie of London to be begonne in the seconde yere of Brutes reygne. 1590 C. Lucar Lucarsolace iii. xlii. 136 Supposing ABCD to be the assigned square, diuide any one side therof into two equal parts. 1665 J. Glanvill Sciri Tuum: Authors Defense Authors Defense 48 in Scepsis Scientifica Supposing both wheels to be denticulated, the little wheel will with it's teeth describe lines. 1782 W. Marshall Minutes in Rural Econ. Norfolk (1787) II. 224 Supposing the cheeseling to be made in the morning, it now remains in the press, untouched, until the evening. 1861 T. Lund J. Wood's Elem. Alg. 237 Supposing O to be excluded as a value of either x or y. 1911 Encycl. Brit. XVII. 731/2 Supposing equilibrium to have been attained in a given market,..the price of the commodity dealt in, in the market, will remain practically unchanged during that period. 2000 N. Rescher Inq. Dynamics iii. 31 Supposing such a thing to be true, what is the kind of proof which I ought to demand to satisfy me of its truth? (b) With object clause. Also: what if? Also intransitive with object implied. ΚΠ 1659 H. More Immortality of Soul ii. vii. §13. 197 Supposing that the Soul's Centre of perception..could be..seated in such dull pasty Matter as the Pith of the Brain is. 1690 J. Locke Ess. Humane Understanding iv. ii. 267 For supposing the Sensation or Idea we name Whiteness, be produced in us by a certain number of Globules. 1721 in Publ. Catholic Rec. Soc. (1910) 8 305 They shall cause to be said thrice thirty Masses for Mother Abbesse, supposing she dyes. 1836 C. Dickens Let. ?27 Aug. (1965) I. 172 Supposing it should be as successful as I, and every one else anticipate, should you be disposed to make any agreement with me, for publishing it? 1862 J. Ruskin Unto this Last i. 35 Supposing the captain of a frigate saw it right..to place his own son in the position of a common sailor. 1904 W. E. Norris Nature's Comedian xi My objections—supposing I have any—wouldn't give you a sleepless night, I imagine. 1907 Pharmaceut. Era 20 June 581/1 (heading) Just supposing. 1981 A. MacLean River of Death (1983) i. 38 ‘I'm only going on a hunch—and a couple of brand-new golden coins that may be a thousand years old, two thousand... Just supposing.’ ‘Supposing what?’ ‘Supposing you found it, of course.’ (c) With object and complement. ΚΠ 1689 W. Cole Purpura Anglicana 3 In a little time more, it will be of a Purplish red: after which, lying about an hour or two, (supposing the Sun still shining) it will be of a very deep Purple red. 1744 D. Falconer Decisions 28 Supposing the Deeds reducible of their own Nature, they must be supported from the Pursuer's Consent. 1857 J. Ruskin Polit. Econ. Art i. 43 Supposing them sculptors, will not the same rule hold? 1867 J. Ruskin Time & Tide ii. §7 Even supposing a gradual rise in social rank possible for all well-conducted persons. 1911 Classical Rev. 25 22 Supposing the transcription correct, we have the article used articularly..at the remote date of 1600 B.C. 2005 P. Maher in R. Festa et al. Confirmation, Empirical Progress, & Truth Approximation 102 Kuipers' ‘solution’, even supposing it true, does not solve the paradox. b. colloquial. With object clause. Introducing a suggestion or proposal; = sense 11d. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > belief > suggestion, proposal > suggest [verb (transitive)] > for consideration puta1350 purposea1382 propone1402 motion1505 exhibit1529 propound?1531 prefer1539 raise1566 to put forward1569 broach1579 start1579 offer1583 propose1614 first1628 to put it to a person1664 moot1685 suppose1771 pose1862 to put up1901 1771 E. E. Nichols Fault was All his Own II. xii. 6 ‘Now then we have gotten her off our hands,’ whispers Curiosity, ‘supposing we take a trip with Cupid to the court of Hymen—.’ 1834 ‘An Officer’ Ambrose & Eleanor I. v. 68 ‘Supposing we leave that point to be decided by Shubal.’ ‘Agreed.’ 1891 T. Hardy Tess of the D'Urbervilles I. v. 73 Supposing we walk round the grounds to pass the time, my pretty Coz? 1908 R. Bagot Anthony Cuthbert iii. 24 By the way, supposing you were to drop ‘uncle-ing’ me? 1985 R. Curtis & B. Elton Blackadder II in R. Curtis et al. Blackadder: Whole Damn Dynasty (1998) 177/1 Supposing I was to say to you something like ‘I'm a close friend of the queen's and I think she'd be very interested to hear about you and Mollie and the wimple, so why don't we just call it quits, eh, fatso?’ ***** Special grammatical uses of sense 9. 13.** to be supposed to: to be intended or meant to do or be; to have as a duty, to be obliged to, ought. a. transitive. In the affirmative, and with normal negative to be supposed not to. ΚΠ 1797 Encycl. Brit. XVIII. 380/2 (Tennis) When the player gives his service at the beginning of a set, his adversary is supposed to return the ball. 1799 J. Robertson Gen. View Agric. Perth 377 The expence of fishing must be paid..after which the benefit of the catch is supposed to accrue to the proprietors. 1862 Rhode Island Schoolmaster Jan. 31/2 True, all the pupils learn to write, or are supposed to, but we candidly believe that the number who acquire even a legible hand, is very small. 1872 E. W. Robertson Hist. Ess. 190 The aspirant for knighthood was supposed to pass his life between 7 and 14 as a page. 1894 J. Pope Mem. Rt. Hon. Sir John A. Macdonald I. ii. 24 It appears that Mr. Baldwin considered this notice as sufficient to relieve him of the ordinary obligations which are supposed to govern the actions of Cabinet Ministers. 1949 E. Caldwell This Very Earth xi. 112 What's a girl supposed to do on Tuesday nights..? Bring her diary up to date? 1962 E. Albee Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? i. 84 When Daddy retired, he'd take over the college... That's the way it was supposed to be. 1976 M. Machlin Pipeline xi. 134 That's more than the whole job was supposed to cost in the first place. 2010 S. Fry Fry Chrons. 356 I know that if you are flourishing in a regime you are supposed not to bellyache about it. b. transitive. In the negative to be not supposed to, with the sense ‘to be meant or obliged not to’.With this transference of negation from the subordinate to the main clause, cf. must v.¹ 7. ΚΠ 1884 H. R. Haweis My Musical Life i. iii. 80 Whewell's evening parties—called by the freshmen Whewell's ‘Stand-ups’, because undergraduates were not supposed to ‘sit’ on these solemn occasions. 1902 ‘R. Connor’ Glengarry School Days ii. 43 Girls are not supposed to be soldiers, are they, Margaret? 1914 G. B. Shaw Misalliance 86 Look here, Mr Percival: youre not supposed to insult my sister. 1969 A. Christie Hallowe'en Party xiii. 141 I brought her in lots of things that she was not supposed to eat. 1994 Rolling Stone 25 Aug. 100/4 What's a ‘pharmaconaut’? Somebody that tries out new combos (of pills) and does things they're not supposed to. †II. Senses involving deception. Cf. supposition n. II. 14. To feign, pretend. a. intransitive. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > dissimulation, pretence > pretend, dissemble [verb (intransitive)] letc1000 faitc1330 counterfeitc1374 dissimulec1374 feignc1400 showc1405 supposea1450 fare1483 simule?a1500 dissemble1523 pretend1526 frame1545 cloakc1572 jouk1573 pretent1582 disguisea1586 devise1600 semble1603 coin1607 insimulate1623 fox1646 sham1787 dissimulate1796 gammon1819 to let on1822 simulate1823 possum1832 simulacrize1845 to put on an act1929 to put on (also up) a show1937 prat1967 a1450 (c1410) H. Lovelich Hist. Holy Grail xxxvi. 243 Sche hym kyste with Al hire Myht, Supposyng to ypocras with herte goodlye; but Al was falshod and Trecherye. 1699 tr. C. de Saint-Evremond Arguments M. Herard 137 To invent a hundred things of this Nature, to disguise, feign, and suppose, have been, as it were, the steps, by which Monsieur Herard has mounted to the heighth of his bold Elogy on Monsieur the Duke. b. transitive. With object and infinitive, object clause, or object and complement. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > dissimulation, pretence > pretend, simulate, feign [verb (transitive)] mitheeOE bipechec1000 huec1000 feigna1300 unlikena1382 counterfeitc1400 pretend1402 dissimulec1430 dissimule1483 simule?a1500 semble1530 counterfeit1534 dissemblea1538 suppose1566 countenance1590 mock1595 assume1604 to put on1625 assimulate1630 personate1631 to take on1645 simulate1652 forge1752 sham1775 possum1850 to turn on1865 fake1889 1566 W. Painter Palace of Pleasure I. v. f. 13^v The maide..was the doughter of his owne bondwoman, who afterwardes beeyng stolen awaie, was caried to the house of Virginius, and supposed to bee his childe. 1622–3 in Quarter Sessions Rec. (N. Riding Rec. Soc.) (1885) III. 161 Ninian Etherington, supposing himself to be a Sheriffes Baliffe, did distreigne and carrie awaie a cow. 1676 W. Wycherley Plain-dealer i. i Keep all that ask for me from coming up; suppose you were guarding the Scuttle to the Powder room. 1754 S. Fielding Cry I. Contents sig. A4 Portia again personates Melantha, and tells the life she had formed on supposing herself married to Ferdinand, and triumphing over her rival Portia. 15. transitive. To substitute (something, esp. a child) by artifice or fraud. Cf. earlier suppone v. 4; also supposition n. 4a, supposititious adj. 1. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > time > change > exchange > substitution > substitute [verb (transitive)] > fraudulently suppone1542 suppose1607 to ring in1819 switch1897 the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > cheating, fraud > treat fraudulently, cheat [verb (transitive)] > substitute fraudulently underputc1400 suppone1542 suppose1607 to ring in1819 humbug1821 switch1897 1607 E. Grimeston tr. S. Goulart Admirable & Memorable Hist. 255 Others..haue stuft vp their bellies with cloth & little cushions.., counterfetting themselues to bee distasted, way-ward, melancholie and heauie: and at the end of 9. monethes to suppose some Child, brought secretly from the house of some poore neighbour. 1614 J. Selden Titles of Honor ii. i. 176 That they when the Queen is in child-birth,..warily obserue least the Ladies should priuily counterfeit the enheritable sex, by supposing som other Male when the true birth is female. a1640 P. Massinger Beleeue as you List (1976) ii. ii. 348 To suppose a bodie, and..to inter it in a rich monument, and then proclaime this is the bodye of Antiochus. 1641 Earl of Monmouth tr. G. F. Biondi Hist. Civil Warres Eng. I. v. 111 Shee..did suppose the sonne of a Iew..that he might personate the Duke of Yorke. 1731 N. Tindal tr. P. Rapin de Thoyras Hist. Eng. XV. 434 Others imagine, that she was really with child, but that having miscarried, she supposed a child. 1767 Speeches, &c. in Douglas Trial 48 Persons guilty of supposing children. †III. Senses involving the placing of something. 16. transitive. To put, place, or add below something; to append. Chiefly figurative or in figurative contexts. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > space > relative position > low position > put in low position [verb (transitive)] > place under underlayc1000 underputc1220 underseta1340 supposec1450 subject1578 substrate1578 suppone1611 subterpose1881 c1450 C. d'Orleans Poems (1941) 3 (MED) Twene ioy and woo my gost supposid is. 1608 G. Chapman Conspiracie Duke of Byron iv. sig. G3 Foolish statuaries, That vnder little [statues of] Saints suppose, great bases. 1649 Bp. J. Taylor Great Exemplar ii. 101 The three coronets, which themselves..supposed as pendants to the great crown of righteousnesse. 1797 Encycl. Brit. XVIII. 83/2 at Supposition Concords by supposition are those where the continued bass adds or supposes a new sound below the fundamental bass. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2012; most recently modified version published online June 2022). < n.1573v.c1350
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supposen.

supposev.