Gissingen

Gissingen is the Dutch plural noun meaning guesses or rough estimates. It is the plural of gissing, a noun formed from the verb gissen, to guess or to estimate. The term signals approximate conclusions rather than precise measurements and is often used where data are scarce or uncertain.

In contemporary Dutch, gissingen appears mainly in contexts where a precise figure is not known or not yet calculated. In everyday language, gissingen denotes informal estimates; in more formal writing, inschatting or schatting are typically preferred. Gissing can carry a slightly more speculative or tentative nuance than inschatting.

Gissingen are used as starting points in analysis or forecasting. In statistics, they may refer to initial values or priors before data collection, which are later refined into more accurate inschattingen through sampling and modeling. In journalism or debate, gissingen describe educated guesses, forecasts, or conjectures about outcomes such as turnout, prices, or growth, without claiming certainty.

Related terms include inschatting, schatting, ramingen, and voorspelling. The term gissing is more likely to be encountered in historical texts or in contexts where a more literary or informal tone is intended.