Etymology
From Middle English gessen (verb) and Middle English gesse (noun), probably of North Germanic origin, from Old Danish getse, gitse, getsa (“to guess”), from Old Norse *getsa, *gitsa, from Proto-Germanic *gitisōną (“to guess”), from Proto-Germanic *getaną (“to get”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰed- (“to take, seize”). Cognate with Danish gisne (“to guess”), Norwegian gissa, gjette (“to guess”), Swedish gissa (“to guess”), Saterland Frisian gisje (“to guess”), Dutch gissen (“to guess”), Low German gissen (“to guess”), Dutch gis (“a guess”). Related also to Icelandic giska ("to guess"; from Proto-Germanic *gitiskōną). Compare also Russian гада́ть (gadátʹ, “to conjecture, guess, divine”), Albanian gjëzë (“riddle”) from gjej (“find, recover, obtain”). More at get.
Verb
guess (third-person singular simple present guesses, present participle guessing, simple past and past participle guessed)
- To reach a partly (or totally) unconfirmed conclusion; to engage in conjecture; to speculate.
We can only guess at what was going through her mind.
She guessed that the delivery driver must have got stuck in traffic.
- To solve by a correct conjecture; to conjecture rightly.
He who guesses the riddle shall have the ring.
You guessed the right answer!
You will never guess what happened next.
- (chiefly US) to suppose, to imagine (introducing a proposition of uncertain plausibility).
That album is quite hard to find, but I guess you could try ordering it online.
c. 1591–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Third Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i]:Not all together; better far, I guess, / That we do make our entrance several ways.
- (colloquial) To think, conclude, or decide (without a connotation of uncertainty). Usually in first person: "I guess".
"I guess you were right." "What did he say?" "He guesses you were right."
"I guess I'll go to bed."
- (obsolete) To hit upon or reproduce by memory.
c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i]:Tell me their words, as near as thou canst guess them.
Conjugation
More information infinitive, present tense ...
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Translations
to reach an unconfirmed conclusion
- Arabic: خَمَّنَ (ḵammana), حزر (ḥazara)
- Belarusian: адга́дваць impf (adhádvacʹ), адгада́ць pf (adhadácʹ)
- Bulgarian: гада́я (bg) impf (gadája), отга́твам (bg) impf (otgátvam)
- Catalan: endevinar (ca)
- Chinese:
- Mandarin: 猜測／猜测 (zh) (cāicè), 猜 (zh) (cāi), 推測／推测 (zh) (tuīcè)
- Czech: hádat
- Dutch: veronderstellen (nl), gissen (nl)
- Esperanto: diveni (eo)
- Finnish: arvata (fi), veikata (fi)
- French: deviner (fr)
- Galician: adiviñar (gl)
- German: schätzen (de), raten (de)
- Greek: υποθέτω (el) (ypothéto), εικάζω (el) (eikázo)
- Ancient: τοπάζω (topázō)
- Hebrew: נִיחֵשׁ (nikhésh)
- Hindi: अनुमान (hi) (anumān), अटकल (hi) (aṭkal)
- Hungarian: találgat (hu), tippel (hu), saccol (hu)
- Icelandic: geta (is), giska
- Ido: divinar (io)
- Irish: tomhais
- Italian: indovinare (it)
- Japanese: 推測する (ja) (すいそくする, suisoku suru), 察する (ja) (さっする, sassuru), 憶測する (ja) (おくそくする, okusoku suru)
- Korean: 추측하다 (ko) (chucheukhada)
- Latin: dīvīnō
- Malayalam: ഊഹിക്കുക (ml) (ūhikkuka)
- Mirandese: adebinar
- Mongolian: таах (mn) (taax)
- Neapolitan: addivinà
- Norwegian: gjette, gissa (no)
- Nynorsk: gjete, gjeta, gjetta, gissa
- Old English: rǣdan
- Polish: zgadywać (pl) impf, zgadnąć (pl) pf
- Portuguese: adivinhar (pt)
- Romanian: bănui (ro), ghici (ro)
- Russian: гада́ть (ru) impf (gadátʹ), погада́ть (ru) pf (pogadátʹ), уга́дывать (ru) impf (ugádyvatʹ), угада́ть (ru) pf (ugadátʹ), отга́дывать (ru) impf (otgádyvatʹ), отгада́ть (ru) pf (otgadátʹ), дога́дываться (ru) impf (dogádyvatʹsja), догада́ться (ru) pf (dogadátʹsja)
- Scottish Gaelic: tomhais
- Serbo-Croatian: nagađati (sh) impf, nagoditi (sh) pf
- Slovak: hádať impf
- Slovene: uganiti
- Spanish: adivinar (es), conjeturar (es)
- Swedish: gissa (sv)
- Tagalog: manghula
- Thai: เดา (th) (dao)
- Ukrainian: припуска́ти impf (prypuskáty), припусти́ти pf (prypustýty)
- Venetian: intivar (vec), indovinar
- Vietnamese: đoán (vi), phỏng đoán (vi)
- Welsh: dyfalu (cy)
- West Frisian: ergje
- Yiddish: טרעפֿן (trefn)
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to solve by a correct conjecture
- Azerbaijani: tapmaq (az)
- Belarusian: уга́дваць impf (uhádvacʹ), угада́ць pf (uhadácʹ), адга́дваць impf (adhádvacʹ), адгада́ць pf (adhadácʹ)
- Bulgarian: досе́щам се impf (doséštam se), отга́твам (bg) impf (otgátvam)
- Catalan: obtenir (ca)
- Czech: uhádnout
- Dutch: raden (nl)
- Finnish: ratkaista (fi)
- French: déduire (fr)
- Galician: adiviñar (gl), acertar (gl)
- German: erraten (de)
- Greek: μαντεύω (el) (mantévo)
- Hungarian: kitalál (hu), eltalál (hu)
- Indonesian: menebak (id)
- Irish: tomhais
- Italian: azzeccare (it)
- Japanese: 当てる (ja) (あてる, ateru), 言い当てる (いいあてる, iiateru)
- Malay: agak (ms), anggar (ms)
- Malayalam: ഊഹിക്കുക (ml) (ūhikkuka)
- Mongolian: таах (mn) (taax)
- Old English: rǣdan
- Polish: odgadywać (pl) impf, odgadnąć (pl) pf
- Portuguese: adivinhar (pt), deduzir (pt)
- Russian: уга́дывать (ru) impf (ugádyvatʹ), угада́ть (ru) pf (ugadátʹ), отга́дывать (ru) impf (otgádyvatʹ), отгада́ть (ru) pf (otgadátʹ)
- Scottish Gaelic: tomhais
- Spanish: deducir (es), adivinar (es)
- Tagalog: nahulaan
- Ukrainian: здога́дуватися impf (zdoháduvatysja), здогада́тися pf (zdohadátysja), уга́дувати impf (uháduvaty), угада́ти pf (uhadáty), вга́дувати impf (vháduvaty), вгада́ти pf (vhadáty), відга́дувати impf (vidháduvaty), відгада́ти pf (vidhadáty)
- Vietnamese: đoán ra, nghĩ ra
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to suppose, to imagine
- Belarusian: меркава́ць impf (mjerkavácʹ)
- Bulgarian: предпола́гам (bg) impf (predpolágam)
- Catalan: suposar (ca)
- Czech: předpokládat (cs)
- Finnish: luulla (fi)
- French: supposer (fr), imaginer (fr)
- Galician: coidar (gl)
- German: denken (de), glauben (de), vermuten (de)
- Greek: υποθέτω (el) (ypothéto), μάλλον (el) (mállon)
- Ancient: ὑπονοέω (huponoéō)
- Hungarian: gondol (hu), sejt (hu), feltesz (hu), vél (hu)
- Italian: supponere, presumere (it)
- Latin: facio (la), sumo (la), fingo
- Malayalam: ഊഹിക്കുക (ml) (ūhikkuka)
- Old English: rǣdan, rǣswan
- Persian: حدسیدن (fa)
- Polish: przypuszczać (pl) impf, domniemywać impf, mniemać (pl) impf
- Portuguese: achar (pt), supor (pt)
- Romanian: bănui (ro), presupune (ro)
- Russian: полага́ть (ru) impf (polagátʹ)
- Serbo-Croatian:
- Cyrillic: претпо̀стављати, ва̀љда
- Roman: pretpòstavljati (sh), vàljda (sh)
- Spanish: suponer (es)
- Swedish: förmoda (sv), tro (sv)
- Tagalog: siguro
- Thai: เดา (th) (dao)
- Turkish: tahmin etmek (tr)
- Ukrainian: припуска́ти impf (prypuskáty)
- Vietnamese: chắc rằng, nghĩ (vi)
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to think, conclude, or decide without a connotation of uncertainty
(obsolete in English) to hit upon or reproduce by memory
Noun
guess (plural guesses)
- A prediction about the outcome of something, typically made without factual evidence or support.
- Synonyms: estimate, hypothesis, prediction
If you don't know the answer, take a guess.
1907, L. Frank Baum, Ozma of Oz:"But I shall have eleven guesses," answered Ozma. "Surely I ought to guess one object in eleven correctly; and, if I do, I shall rescue one of the royal family and be safe myself. Then the rest of you may attempt it, and soon we shall free all those who are enslaved."
2005, Mike Batt (lyrics and music), “Nine Million Bicycles”, performed by Katie Melua:We are twelve billion light years from the edge / That's a guess
Translations
prediction about the outcome of something
- Albanian: hamendje (sq), supozim (sq)
- Belarusian: дага́дка f (dahádka), здага́дка f (zdahádka)
- Bulgarian: дога́дка (bg) f (dogádka), предположе́ние (bg) n (predpoložénie)
- Catalan: conjectura (ca) f
- Cebuano: panaghap
- Chinese:
- Mandarin: 猜測／猜测 (zh) (cāicè)
- Czech: odhad (cs) m
- Danish: gæt n
- Dutch: gok (nl) m, gissing (nl) f, veronderstelling (nl) f, raden (nl), gis (nl)
- Finnish: arvaus (fi), veikkaus (fi)
- French: conjecture (fr) f
- German: Vermutung (de) f
- Greek: εικασία (el) f (eikasía)
- Hindi: अनुमान (hi) (anumān), अटकल (hi) (aṭkal)
- Indonesian: tebakan (id)
- Irish: amas m, amhras (ga) m, barúil (ga) f, tomhas m, buille faoi thuairim m
- Italian: congettura (it) f
- Japanese: 推測 (ja) (すいそく, suisoku)
- Korean: 추측(推測) (ko) (chucheuk)
- Kurdish:
- Central Kurdish: مەزەندە (mezende)
- Latin: coniectūra f
- Malayalam: ഊഹം (ml) (ūhaṁ)
- Norwegian: gjetning m or f
- Old English: rǣdels m
- Oromo: tilmaama
- Persian: حدس (fa) (hads)
- Polish: zgadnięcie (pl) n
- Portuguese: suposição (pt) f, conjectura (pt)
- Russian: дога́дка (ru) f (dogádka)
- Scottish Gaelic: tomhas m, tuairmse m, barail f
- Spanish: conjetura (es) f
- Swedish: gissning (sv) c
- Turkish: tahmin (tr)
- Ukrainian: здо́гадка f (zdóhadka), здога́дка f (zdohádka), здо́гад m (zdóhad), до́гад m (dóhad), до́гадка f (dóhadka), дога́дка f (dohádka)
- Vietnamese: sự đoán (vi)
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Further reading
- “guess”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “guess”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
