premesse

Premesse is the plural form of the Italian noun premessa. In Italian, premessa can refer to a premise or assumption that forms the basis of an argument, as well as to a preface or introduction to a text. Therefore premesse can denote either the set of premises supporting a claim or the introductory sections of one or more works.

In philosophy and logic, premesse are the propositions taken as given or assumed within an argument. They can be explicit statements stated by the author or implicit background assumptions that underlie the reasoning. The strength of an argument often depends on the clarity and acceptability of its premesse.

In literary and publishing contexts, premessa may describe a preface or introductory note at the beginning of a book or document. When a collection has multiple introductory notes or front matter pieces, these can be referred to as premesse in a broader sense.

Etymology and usage notes: premessa derives from pre- (before) and messa (putting), literally something put before as an introduction or foundation. The plural premesse is rarely used in everyday Italian outside formal or scholarly writing; in translation, premessa is commonly rendered as premise or preface, depending on whether the sense is argumentative or introductory.

See also: Premise, Premises, Preface. The Italian term is distinct from the English noun premises, which also has a legal or real estate meaning, and from the English term preface, which corresponds to the literary sense of premessa.