déduit

Déduit is the past participle of the French verb déduire, which has several closely related meanings in French: to deduce or infer from information, and to deduct or subtract in accounting or taxation. In verb forms with the auxiliary avoir, déduit appears in compound tenses (for example, il a déduit ses conclusions). As an adjective, déduit can describe something derived or inferred from data, as in une conclusion déduite des preuves.

Etymology: déduire derives from Latin deducere, meaning to lead away or derive. The form déduit preserves the sense of having been led away from premises to a conclusion. The prefix dé- in French often signals removal or separation, while -duc- stems from ducere “to lead.” The noun corresponding to the concept is déduction.

Usage and context: In logic and mathematics, déduction refers to the process of deriving conclusions from premises; a statement can be said to be déduit from axioms. In everyday language, déduire is used to infer conclusions from facts. In accounting and taxation contexts, déduire means to deduct an amount from a total, with the noun déduction used for the deduction itself (la déduction fiscale). The term can also appear in legal or analytical prose to describe conclusions that follow from available evidence.

See also: déduction, déduire, logique (déduction). The word is common in French-language texts on logic, mathematics, law, and finance, where precise distinctions between deduction, inference, and deduction in accounting are maintained.