Eeltingimus

Eeltingimus is a term used to denote a precondition—an event or condition that must be fulfilled before another action can take place. It is used across fields such as law, business, and software development to describe prerequisites that enable subsequent steps.

Etymology and usage: The word derives from Estonian eel- meaning before and tingimus meaning condition, and it is found in formal documents and technical writing to denote conditional prerequisites.

In contract law and governance, a precondition may determine when a contract becomes effective or when performance obligations arise, and it can be used to suspend or void proceedings if not met.

In software engineering and design by contract, a precondition specifies the state required on entry to a function or method. If the precondition is not satisfied, the behavior is typically undefined or an error is raised; postconditions describe outcomes after execution, and invariants must hold throughout.

Examples and relations: A function openFile may have a precondition that the file exists and is accessible; a project may require funding be secured before initiation; in logic, the antecedent of an implication serves as a precondition to the conclusion.

See also: precondition; design by contract; postcondition; invariant.