guess

guess
\ \ [13] In the earliest records we have of the verb guess, it is used for ‘take aim’. The modern sense ‘estimate’ did not emerge until the mid- 14th century. It seems to be of Scandinavian origin, and probably comes ultimately from the same base as produced get (Old Norse geta meant ‘guess’ as well as ‘get’, and the semantic progression hinted at by the intermediate ‘take aim’ is probably via ‘lock on to something in one’s sights’ to ‘fix on a particular figure’ – by implication, without exact calculation). Guesstimate, a blend of guess and estimate, is a US coinage of the 1930s.
\ \ Cf.GET

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • Guess — (g[e^]s), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Guessed}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Guessing}.] [OE. gessen; akin to Dan. gisse, Sw. gissa, Icel. gizha, D. gissen: cf. Dan. giette to guess, Icel. geta to get, to guess. Probably originally, to try to get, and akin to E.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Guess? — Guess?, Inc. Tipo Pública (NYSE: GES) Fundación Los Ángeles, CA (1981) …   Wikipedia Español

  • guess — The informal use of I guess meaning ‘I think it likely, I suppose’ developed in America in the late 18c from the standard use of the phrase meaning ‘it is my opinion or hypothesis (that)’. The Americanness of the informal use has been marked… …   Modern English usage

  • guess´er — guess «gehs», verb, noun. –v.t. 1. to form an opinion of without really knowing; conjecture; estimate: »to guess the height of a tree, guess what will happen next. 2. to get right by guessing: »Can you guess the answer to that riddle? 3. to think …   Useful english dictionary

  • guess — guess·able; guess·er; guess·ing·ly; guess; guess·ti·mate; …   English syllables

  • Guess — Guess, v. i. To make a guess or random judgment; to conjecture; with at, about, etc. [1913 Webster] This is the place, as well as I may guess. Milton. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Guess — Guess, n. An opinion as to anything, formed without sufficient or decisive evidence or grounds; an attempt to hit upon the truth by a random judgment; a conjecture; a surmise. [1913 Webster] A poet must confess His art s like physic but a happy… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • guess — [ges] vt., vi. [ME gessen, to judge, estimate, prob. < MDu, akin to Dan gisse, Swed gissa, ON geta: for IE base see GET] 1. to form a judgment or estimate of (something) without actual knowledge or enough facts for certainty; conjecture;… …   English World dictionary

  • guess — vb *conjecture, surmise Analogous words: speculate, *think, reason: imagine, fancy (see THINK): gather, *infer, deduce: estimate, reckon (see CALCULATE) guess n conjecture, surmise (see under …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • guess — [n] belief, speculation assumption, ballpark figure*, conclusion, conjecture, deduction, divination, estimate, fancy, feeling, guesstimate*, guesswork, hunch*, hypothesis, induction, inference, judgment, notion, opinion, postulate, postulation,… …   New thesaurus

  • guess — ► VERB 1) estimate or suppose (something) without sufficient information to be sure of being correct. 2) correctly estimate or conjecture. 3) (I guess) informal, chiefly N. Amer. I suppose. ► NOUN ▪ an estimate or conjecture. DERIVATIVES …   English terms dictionary

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