Some 16th-century Italian clergymen tried to ban coffee because they believed it to be “satanic.” However, Pope Clement VII loved coffee so much that he lifted the ban and had coffee baptized in 1600.
POSTULATE
postulate, posit
(noun) (logic) a proposition that is accepted as true in order to provide a basis for logical reasoning
postulate, posit
(verb) take as a given; assume as a postulate or axiom; “He posited three basic laws of nature”
contend, postulate
(verb) maintain or assert; “He contended that Communism had no future”
necessitate, ask, postulate, need, require, take, involve, call for, demand
(verb) require as useful, just, or proper; “It takes nerve to do what she did”; “success usually requires hard work”; “This job asks a lot of patience and skill”; “This position demands a lot of personal sacrifice”; “This dinner calls for a spectacular dessert”; “This intervention does not postulate a patient’s consent”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Noun
postulate (plural postulates)
Something assumed without proof as being self-evident or generally accepted, especially when used as a basis for an argument. Sometimes distinguished from axioms as being relevant to a particular science or context, rather than universally true, and following from other axioms rather than being an absolute assumption.
A fundamental element; a basic principle.
(logic) An axiom.
A requirement; a prerequisite.
Adjective
postulate (not comparable)
Postulated.
Verb
postulate (third-person singular simple present postulates, present participle postulating, simple past and past participle postulated)
To assume as a truthful or accurate premise or axiom, especially as a basis of an argument.
(ambitransitive, Christianity, historical) To appoint or request one's appointment to an ecclesiastical office.
(ambitransitive, obsolete) To request, demand or claim for oneself.
Anagrams
• attopulse
Source: Wiktionary
Pos"tu*late, n. Etym: [L. postulatum a demand, request, prop. p. p. of postulare to demand, prob. a dim. of poscere to demand, prob. for porcscere; akin to G. forschen to search, investigate, Skr. prach to ask, and L. precari to pray: cf. F. postulat. See Pray.]
1. Something demanded or asserted; especially, a position or supposition assumed without proof, or one which is considered as self-evident; a truth to which assent may be demanded or challenged, without argument or evidence.
2. (Geom.)
Definition: The enunciation of a self-evident problem, in distinction from an axiom, which is the enunciation of a self-evident theorem. The distinction between a postulate and an axiom lies in this, -- that the latter is admitted to be self-evident, while the former may be agreed upon between two reasoners, and admitted by both, but not as proposition which it would be impossible to deny. Eng. Cyc.
Pos"tu*late, a.
Definition: Postulated. [Obs.] Hudibras.
Pos"tu*late, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Postulated; p. pr. & vb. n. Postulating.]
1. To beg, or assume without proof; as, to postulate conclusions.
2. To take without express consent; to assume. The Byzantine emperors appear to have . . . postulated a sort of paramount supremacy over this nation. W. Tooke.
3. To invite earnestly; to solicit. [Obs.] Bp. Burnet.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Word of the Day
8 February 2025
STATE
(noun) the group of people comprising the government of a sovereign state; “the state has lowered its income tax”
Coffee Trivia
