A hypothesis (Greek: ὑπόθεσις hupóthesis = assumption) or research question is in the empirical science a statement that (yet) has not been proven and serves as a starting point for an experiment. It is possible to gather very many clues that support a hypothesis, but one, reproducible, negative-fading experiment is sufficient to falsify (hypothesis) the hypothesis. According to, among others, Karl Popper, a scientific hypothesis must, in principle, be falsifiable: experiments should be conceivable that would falsify the hypothesis if the results of that experiment contradict the hypothesis. For many hypotheses, science has not been advanced far enough to give an experimental explanation of the scientific truthfulness of the hypotheses.
'hypothesis' is used in everyday speech in the sense of 'assumption, assumption'. Also see WikiWoordenboek
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