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Added 9 October 2026

deduce

/dɪˈdʒuːs/ verb

Latin root: dēdūcere Wiktionary

verb Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about deduce at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

To reach (a conclusion) by applying rules of logic or other forms of reasoning to given premises or known facts.
To examine, explain, or record (something) in an orderly manner.
To obtain (something) from some source; to derive.

Origin

From Late Middle English deducen (“to demonstrate, prove, show; to argue, infer; to bring, lead; to turn (something) to a use; to deduct”), borrowed from Latin dēdūcere, the present active infinitive of dēdūcō (“to lead or bring out or away; to accompany, conduct, escort; (figuratively) to derive, discover, deduce”); from dē- (prefix meaning ‘from, away from’) + dūcere (the present active infinitive of dūcō (“to conduct, guide, lead; to draw, pull; to consider, regard, think”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dewk- (“to lead; to draw, pull”)).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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