Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
Predicate \Pred"i*cate\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Predicated}; p.
pr. & vb. n. {Predicating}.] [L. praedicatus, p. p. of
praedicare to cry in public, to proclaim. See {Preach}.]
1. To assert to belong to something; to affirm (one thing of
another); as, to predicate whiteness of snow.
2. To found; to base. [U.S.]
Note: Predicate is sometimes used in the United States for
found or base; as, to predicate an argument on certain
principles; to predicate a statement on information
received. Predicate is a term in logic, and used only
in a single case, namely, when we affirm one thing of
another. ``Similitude is not predicated of essences or
substances, but of figures and qualities only.''
--Cudworth.
Predicate \Pred"i*cate\, v. i.
To affirm something of another thing; to make an affirmation.
--Sir M. Hale.
Predicate \Pred"i*cate\, n. [L. praedicatum, neut. of
praedicatus, p. p. praedicare: cf. F. pr['e]dicat. See
{Predicate}, v. t.]
1. (Logic) That which is affirmed or denied of the subject.
In these propositions, ``Paper is white,'' ``Ink is not
white,'' whiteness is the predicate affirmed of paper and
denied of ink.
2. (Gram.) The word or words in a proposition which express
what is affirmed of the subject.
Syn: Affirmation; declaration.
Predicate \Pred"i*cate\, a. [L. praedicatus, p. p.]
Predicated.
Source : WordNet®
predicate
n 1: (logic) what is predicated of the subject of a proposition;
the second term in a proposition is predicated of the
first term by means of the copula; "`Socrates is a man'
predicates manhood of Socrates"
2: one of the two main constituents of a sentence; the
predicate contains the verb and its complements [syn: {verb
phrase}]
v 1: make the (grammatical) predicate in a proposition; "The
predicate `dog' is predicated of the subject `Fido' in
the sentence `Fido is a dog'"
2: affirm or declare as an attribute or quality of; "The speech
predicated the fitness of the candidate to be President"
[syn: {proclaim}]
3: involve as a necessary condition of consequence; as in
logic; "solving the problem is predicated on understanding
it well" [syn: {connote}]