premise definition | Dictionary.com

prem⋅ise

[prem-is]

noun, verb, -ised, -is⋅ing.

–noun

1.	Also, premiss. Logic. a proposition supporting or helping to support a conclusion.

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.

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
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To premise

prem·ise (prěm'ĭs)

n. also prem·iss (prěm'ĭs)

A proposition upon which an argument is based or from which a conclusion is drawn.
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.
premises Law The preliminary or explanatory statements or facts of a document, as in a deed.
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.

To state in advance as an introduction or explanation.
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.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Premise

Prem"ise\, n.; pl. Premises. [Written also, less properly, premiss.] [F. pr['e]misse, fr. L. praemissus, p. p. of praemittere to send before; prae before + mittere to send. See Mission.]

1. A proposition antecedently supposed or proved; something previously stated or assumed as the basis of further argument; a condition; a supposition.

The premises observed, Thy will by my performance shall be served. --Shak.

2. (Logic) Either of the first two propositions of a syllogism, from which the conclusion is drawn.

Note: "All sinners deserve punishment: A B is a sinner." These propositions, which are the premises, being true or admitted, the conclusion follows, that A B deserves punishment.

While the premises stand firm, it is impossible to shake the conclusion. --Dr. H. More.

3. pl. (Law) Matters previously stated or set forth; esp., that part in the beginning of a deed, the office of which is to express the grantor and grantee, and the land or thing granted or conveyed, and all that precedes the habendum; the thing demised or granted.

4. pl. A piece of real estate; a building and its adjuncts; as, to lease premises; to trespass on another's premises.

Premise

Pre*mise"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Premised; p. pr. & vb. n. Premising.] [From L. praemissus, p. p., or E. premise, n. See Premise, n.]

1. To send before the time, or beforehand; hence, to cause to be before something else; to employ previously. [Obs.]

The premised flames of the last day. --Shak.

If venesection and a cathartic be premised. --E. Darwin.

2. To set forth beforehand, or as introductory to the main subject; to offer previously, as something to explain or aid in understanding what follows; especially, to lay down premises or first propositions, on which rest the subsequent reasonings.

I premise these particulars that the reader may know that I enter upon it as a very ungrateful task. --Addison.

Premise

Pre*mise"\, v. i. To make a premise; to set forth something as a premise. --Swift.

premise (n.)

c.1374, in logic, "a previous proposition from which another follows," from O.Fr. premisse, from M.L. premissa (propositio) "(the proposition) set before," fem. pp. of L. præmittere "send or put before," from præ- "before" + mittere "to send" (see mission). In legal documents it meant "matter previously stated" (1429), which in deeds or wills often was a house or building, hence extended meaning of "house or building, with grounds" (1730). The verb meaning "to state before something else" is from 1526.

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