Make Your Point: PREMISE

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pronounce PREMISE:

PREM iss

connect this word to others:

If words are rivers, then the word premise flows uphill. I'll show you what I mean.

Words typically start off with concrete meanings and, over time, gain abstract ones. It's a natural process, with senses seemingly spilling downhill from where they began. For example:

1. A building with four sides and four right angles, and, later, a person who's steady and unwavering, is four_____.

2. A building that's vast and impressive, and, later, a construct (like tax law or the cosmetics industry) that's vast and impressive, is an edif___.

But it's the other way around with the word premise. Its older meaning is abstract: "a previously-stated matter, such as the description of a house or a building in a legal document." And its newer meaning is concrete: "a building, along with the surrounding lands." It flows uphill. I find that weird and fascinating.

(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)

definition:

"Premise" has Latin bits that literally mean "something sent forward, or something put before." It traces back to the Latin mittere, which here means "to put, to place, or to send." (We've studied several other words that come from mittere; check some out here.)

In one of its oldest senses in English, a premise is a basic idea: a fact, opinion, or idea that serves as the starting point for some bigger thing (usually a discussion, a theory, an argument, or a story). We still use that meaning in general conversation today.

In another sense, premises are things that were mentioned beforehand, usually in legal documents. And because legal documents often refer back to physical property, "premises" also came to mean "buildings and their surrounding land that are legally the property of the owner."

grammatical bits:

Part of speech:

Noun, the countable kind: "The premise of the movie The Invention of Lying is that everyone tells the truth all the time;" "She threw a chair in the Waffle House and was asked to leave the premises."

Other forms:

The plural is "premises."

"Premise" can also be a verb; it's just not very common. Like this: "The movie premises that everyone tells the truth all the time;" "Breakfast restaurants are premised on the assumption that you'll obscenely overpay for eggs that someone else makes for you. Maybe that's why she threw the chair."

how to use it:

"Premise," in either of its senses, is a formal, serious, common word.

To use its first sense, "an idea that forms the basis of something," you might talk about the premise (or premises) of a story, a video game, a theory or a belief system, or a claim or an argument. Or you might talk about things that are "based on the premise that" such-and-such is true, as in "Why are so many movies based on the premise that high schoolers have tons of free time?"

And to use its second sense, "a place's legal property," you might talk about the owner of the premises, or things that happen on the premises, or things that are (and aren't) allowed on the premises, or people coming onto the premises or leaving the premises.

examples:

"If someone says, 'Yo' mama's so dumb she sold her car for gas money,' you don't say, 'Yeah, but why? Was she properly aware of the long-term consequences?' You just accept the premise that yo' mama is dumb and we move on from there. Maybe you lay down some facts about his mama."
— Daniel Nayeri, Everything Sad Is Untrue, 2020

"Will you now do me the favor of leaving the premises?"
— Harper Lee, Go Set a Watchman, 2015

has this page helped you understand "premise"?

Awesome, I'm glad it helped!

Thanks for letting me know!
If you have any questions about this term, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

study it:

Explain both meanings of "premise" without saying "foundational concept" or "brick-and-mortar facility."

try it out:

In a book about math, John Allen Paulos wrote:

"Mathematics is constraining, as is all reality, but it has no independent power to coerce. If one accepts the premises and definitions, one must accept what follows from them, but one can frequently reject premises... In this sense, mathematics is just the opposite of constraining; it is empowering, and at the service of anyone who cares to use it."

I love that!

With math in mind as an example, see if you can describe another topic, field, hobby, or pursuit in which we're free to "reject premises." What might be an example of a premise that you, personally, would reject in this particular sphere?

before you review, play:

Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.

Our game this month is "Fill In For the Poet."

I'll give you a few lines from a poem, with a blank where a word that we've studied before appears, along with the word's definition. See if you can come up with it. If you can't, that's fine: fill in the blank to your satisfaction.

To check out some examples, head here.

Try this today:

From Pablo Neruda's poem "One Hundred Love Sonnets: XVII:"

I don't love you as if you were a rose of salt, topaz,
or arrow of carnations that propagate fire:
I love you as one loves certain _____ things,
secretly, between the shadow and the soul.

Definition: "hard to find, as if hidden far away."

To see the word the poet chose, scroll all the way down.

review this word:

1. The opposite of a PREMISE could be

A. an INTRODUCTION.
B. an ASSERTION.
C. a CONCLUSION.

2. In a novel by Benjamin Alire Sáenz, a character earnestly declares, "You know, wearing shoes is an unnatural act. That's my basic premise... you know, the _____."

A. perfect excuse
B. founding principle
C. philosophical conundrum

a final word:

I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.

I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.

From my blog:
On vocabulary...
  36 ways to study words.
  Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
  How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
On writing...
How to improve any sentence.
How to motivate our kids to write.
How to stop procrastinating and start writing.
How to bulk up your writing when you have to meet a word count.

From my heart: a profound thanks to the generous patrons, donors, and sponsors that make it possible for me to write these emails. If you'd like to be a patron or a donor, please click here. If you'd like to be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.

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