Sometimes I have no idea where I came across a word, and today is one of those days. Add to it that I’ve paired two words together that don’t on the face of it seem related and I begin to wonder about my planning process. So, let’s see if we can find out why I’ve paired recrimination and presume/assume.
We are more familiar with the words presume and assume. Now if you had asked me, I would have guessed that presumption is a later-developing form of the word presume. And I would be wrong. The word presumption came to English in the 13th century, presume entered a century later.
Presumption, in the sense of seizure and occupation without right, or taking upon oneself without warrant, is based on the Late Latin word praesumptionem (no, I’m not making that up). It means confidence or audacity, and also has a sense of anticipation to it. Pre-, as we would expect, means before, and the sume comes from sumere, which means “to take.” There is also a connection with the word exempt (the –empt and –umpt have a common Latin root word association with taking or buying). So in English, the word presumption, with its connotation of taking (without right or warrant) is the older use. The meaning of “taking for granted” didn’t appear in English until about 1300, and then it’s almost another 100 years before the word presume comes into English. It stopped for a visit in Old France, where the word was presumer (and had been there since the 12th century). There is always a little sense of seizure that remains with the word in any of its forms, a sense that one has overstepped boundaries.
Assume, on the other hand, while it still has the sense of seizure (assume control), doesn’t have the unwarranted sense that presume does. It also makes a later appearance in English, not arriving from the Latin until the middle 15th century. It was formed by the use of the prefix ad-, which means “up” or “to” with the aforementioned sumere. There is a Latin word assumere from which we can make the leap to English.
What’s interesting is that the Feast of the Assumption, the August 15 celebration of the departure from this life of the Blessed Virgin Mary, has attestation from about 1300, so the celebration long precedes the entry of the word into common English usage.
It took almost 100 years for the meaning to include not only seizure but supposition. Presume is the expression of the belief of the “presumer”, whereas assume has more of an opportunity for clarification and correction from the non-presumer.
Recrimination is a word that means “counter-charge” (as in “no, you did!”). It is used in the noun form more often than the root verb recriminate. Recrimination came to English very specifically in the 1610s, from the French word recrimination, which they got from the Middle Latin word recriminationem, a form of the word recriminari. Recriminate came from the past participle form of recriminari, recriminatus. It means “to make charges against,” and is formed from “re-“ (meaning back or again) and criminari, meaning “to accuse”. Yes, criminari or a form thereof is where we get the words crime and criminal.
So why did I pair these words together? I can only assume it is because they all refer to statements made without substantiation. You may have presumed as much. In any case, you’re welcome to express your recriminations.
For an account of the source of the quote in the title, see http://www.wayfarersbookshop.com/Biographies/Stanley_Biography/Stanley_-_Dr__Livingstone_I_Pr/stanley_-_dr__livingstone_i_pr.html
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