Conjecture
/kənˈdʒɛk.tʃər/noun
An opinion or conclusion formed on the basis of incomplete information.
Did you know?Conjecture comes from Latin conicere, “to throw together,” and its deeper root is the same one behind words like eject and reject—language built around force, motion, and impact.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*yeh₁-
“to throw, send”
Latin
Latin
iacere
“to throw”
Latin
Latin
conicere
“to throw together; infer”
Late Latin
Latin
coniectura
“an inference, guess, interpretation”
Old French
Old French
conjecture
“conjecture, supposition”
Middle English
English
conjecture
“a guess or inference from incomplete evidence”