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premise
4 dictionary results for: Premises
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
prem·ise       [prem-is] Pronunciation Key noun, verb, -ised, -is·ing.
–noun
1.Also, premiss. Logic. a proposition supporting or helping to support a conclusion.
2.premises,
a.a tract of land including its buildings.
b.a building together with its grounds or other appurtenances.
c.the property forming the subject of a conveyance or bequest.
3.Law.
a.a basis, stated or assumed, on which reasoning proceeds.
b.an earlier statement in a document.
c.(in a bill in equity) the statement of facts upon which the complaint is based.
–verb (used with object)
4.to set forth beforehand, as by way of introduction or explanation.
5.to assume, either explicitly or implicitly, (a proposition) as a premise for a conclusion.
–verb (used without object)
6.to state or assume a premise.
[Origin: 1325–75; ME premiss < ML praemissa, n. use of fem. of L praemissus ptp. of praemittere to send before, equiv. to prae- pre- + mittere to send. See dismiss, remiss]

—Synonyms 1. assumption, postulate. 5. postulate, hypothesize.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
prem·ise       (prěm'ĭs)  Pronunciation Key 
n.   also prem·iss (prěm'ĭs)
  1. A proposition upon which an argument is based or from which a conclusion is drawn.
  2. Logic
    1. One of the propositions in a deductive argument.
    2. Either the major or the minor proposition of a syllogism, from which the conclusion is drawn.
    3. Land and the buildings on it.
    4. A building or part of a building.
  3. premises Law The preliminary or explanatory statements or facts of a document, as in a deed.
  4. premises
    1. Land and the buildings on it.
    2. A building or part of a building.

v.   prem·ised, prem·is·ing, prem·is·es

v.   tr.
  1. To state in advance as an introduction or explanation.
  2. To state or assume as a proposition in an argument.

v.   intr.
To make a premise.


[Middle English premisse, from Old French, from Medieval Latin praemissa (propositiō), (the proposition) put before, premise, from Latin, feminine past participle of praemittere, to set in front : prae-, pre- + mittere, to send.]

Word History: Why do we call a single building the premises? To answer this question, we must go back to the Middle Ages. But first, let it be noted that premises comes from the past participle praemissa, which is both a feminine singular and a neuter plural form of the Latin verb praemittere, "to send in advance, utter by way of preface, place in front, prefix." In Medieval Latin the feminine form praemissa was used as a term in logic, for which we still use the term premise descended from the Medieval Latin word (first recorded in a work composed before 1380). Medieval Latin praemissa in the plural meant "things mentioned before" and was used in legal documents, almost always in the plural, a use that was followed in Old French and Middle English, both of which borrowed the word from Latin. A more specific legal sense in Middle English, "that property, collectively, which is specified in the beginning of a legal document and which is conveyed, as by grant," was also always in the plural in Middle English and later Modern English. And so it remained when this sense was extended to mean "a house or building with its grounds or appurtenances," a usage first recorded before 1730.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
premises

noun
land and the buildings on it; "bread is baked on the premises"; "the were evicted from the premises" 

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law - Cite This Source - Share This
Main Entry: prem·is·es
Pronunciation: 'pre-m&-s&z
Function: noun plural
1 : matters previously stated: as a : the preliminary part of a deed that includes a description of the real estate and that precedes the habendum b : the preliminary part of a bill in equity that states the facts, names the wrongs, and identifies the defendants
2 : a tract of land with its component parts (as buildings); also : a building or part of a building usually with its appurtenances (as grounds or easements)

Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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