Etymology

putative

pu·ta·tive
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Today it means: Commonly believed or deemed to be the case; generally assumed. Full definition →

Middle French putatif ← Latin putātīvus
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The story

  1. Latin · derived fromputātīvus“supposed, purported”
  2. Middle French · derived fromputatif
  3. English todayputative

First attested c. 1432, from Middle French putatif, from Latin putātīvus (“supposed, purported”), from putātus (“thought”), from putō (“to think, to consider, to reckon”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.