premise

The story

1. Latin · derived frompraemittere“to send or put before”
2. Medieval Latin · derived frompremissa“set before”
3. Old French · derived frompremisse
4. Middle English · inherited frompremise, premisse
5. English todaypremise

From Middle English premise, premisse, from Old French premisse, from Medieval Latin premissa (“set before”) (premissa propositio (“the proposition set before”)), feminine past participle of Latin praemittere (“to send or put before”), from prae- (“before”) + mittere (“to send”). Sense 4, a piece of real estate arose from the misinterpretation of the word by property owners while reading title deeds where the word was used with the legal sense.