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posit

noun, verb — 6 senses

posit

noun

UK /ˈpɒzɪt/ · US /ˈpɑzɪt/

Etymology Borrowed from Latin positus, perfect participle of pōnō (“put, place”). Noun sense 3 (type of number format) was coined by American computer scientist and businessman John Gustafson in 2017.

1

Something that is posited; a postulate.

2

Aeronautics, Aerospace, Aviation, Business, Engineering, Natural sciences, Physical sciences Abbreviation Abbreviation of position.

3

Computing, Engineering, Mathematics, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Sciences A number format representing a real number consisting of a sign bit, a variable-size "regime" part (which modifies the exponent), up to two exponent bits, and a fraction part, proposed as a more efficient alternative to IEEE 754 floats in AI applications.

  • With their new hardware implementation, which was synthesized in a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), the Complutense team was able to compare computations done using 32-bit floats and 32-bit posits side by side.2022 September 25, Dina Genkina, “Posits, a New Kind of Number, Improves the Math of AI”, in IEEE Spectrum, New York, N.Y.: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 27 Sep 2024:

posit

verb

Etymology Borrowed from Latin positus, perfect participle of pōnō (“put, place”). Noun sense 3 (type of number format) was coined by American computer scientist and businessman John Gustafson in 2017.

1

To assume the existence of; to postulate.

  • some who posit both this cause and besides this the source of movement, which we have got from some as single and from other as twofold.1908, ARISTOTLE, translated by W. D. Ross, Metaphysics, Book 1, Part 5:
2

To propose for consideration or study; to suggest.

  • Ray's natural theology posited that God was responsible for the near-perfect match between an animal and its environment and encouraged readers to seek evidence for God through the study of nature.2023, Tim Birkhead, Birds and Us, Penguin Books, page 193:
3

To put (something somewhere) firmly; to place or position.

  • Among many Indians, however, an exonormative view, which even today posits British English as the target model, appears to be firmly in place.2014, James Lambert, “Diachronic stability in Indian English lexis”, in World Englishes, page 113:
Derived terms
positer, positor, prepositor, superposit, unposited

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.

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