# Premise

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Premise](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Premise)

A **premise** or **premiss** is a statement that an argument claims will induce or justify a conclusion. It is an assumption that something is true.

In logic, an _argument_ requires a set of at least two _propositions_ known as the premises, along with another proposition, known as the _conclusion_. This structure of two premises and one conclusion forms _the basic argumentative structure_.

More complex arguments can use a sequence of rules to connect several premises to one conclusion, or to derive a number of conclusions from the original premises which then act as premises for additional conclusions. An example of this is the use of the rules of inference found within symbolic logic.

The proof of a conclusion depends on both the truth of the premises and the validity of the argument. Also, additional information is required over and above the meaning of the premise to determine if the full meaning of the conclusion coincides with what is.

For Euclid, premises constitute two of the three propositions in a syllogism, with the other being the conclusion. These, categorical propositions, contain 3 terms: subject and predicate of the conclusion, and the _middle term_. The subject of the conclusion is called the _minor term_ while the predicate is the _major term_. The premise that contains the middle term and major term is called the _major premise_ while the premise that contains the middle term and minor term is called the _minor premise_.

A premise can also be an indicator word if statements have been combined into a logical argument and such word functions to mark the role of one or more of the statements. It indicates that the statement it is attached to is a premise.
