presumptive
adj.adj. describing something that is accepted as true until it is proven otherwise. It is often used in legal or medical contexts to talk about a person's status or a diagnosis that might change later.
adj. based on a high probability or a strong assumption, but not yet proven. Often used in legal contexts to describe a person's status or in medical contexts to describe a diagnosis that is likely but not yet confirmed.
The suspect is a presumptive father until a DNA test proves otherwise.
The patient was given a presumptive diagnosis of the flu, but the doctor ordered a blood test to be certain.
Under the law, the defendant is considered a presumptive heir to the estate, though the final distribution will only occur after the will is validated in court.
PIE word *upó From Late Middle English presumptif, presumptijf (“based on presumption”), from Anglo-Norman presumptif and Middle French presumptif, présomptif (“based on presumption; of an heir or heiress: presumed to be entitled to inherit unless someone with a superior entitlement is born; presumptuous”) (modern French présomptif), and directly from their etymon Late Latin praesumptivus (“based on presumption; bold; insolent”), from Latin praesūmptus (“presumed”) + -īvus (suffix forming adjectives). Praesūmptus is the perfect passive participle of praesūmō (“to presume”), from prae- (prefix meaning ‘before; in front’) + sūmō (“to seize, take; to accept, presuppose; to undertake”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁em- (“to distribute; to take”)).