In logic, a predicate is a non-logical symbol that represents a property or a relation, though, formally, does not need to represent anything at all. For instance, in the first-order formula
, the symbol
is a predicate that applies to the individual constant
which evaluates to either true or false. Similarly, in the formula
, the symbol
is a predicate that applies to the individual constants
and
. Predicates are considered a primitive notion of first-order, and higher-order logic and are therefore not defined in terms of other more basic concepts.
The term derives from the grammatical term "predicate", meaning a word or phrase that represents a property or relation.