from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
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.
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2. To found; to base. [U.S.]
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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.
[1913 Webster]