Conclusion, n.
Etymology: [F., fr. L. conclusio. See Conclude.]
1. The last part of anything; close; termination; end. A fluorish of trumpets announced the conclusion of the contest. Prescott.
2. Final decision; determination; result. And the conclusion is, she shall be thine. Shak.
3. Any inference or result of reasoning.
4. (Logic)
5 more senses
The inferred proposition of a syllogism; the necessary consequence of the conditions asserted in two related propositions called premises. See Syllogism. He granted him both the major and minor, but denied him the conclusion. Addison.
5. Drawing of inferences. [Poetic] Your wife Octavia, with her modest eyes And still conclusion. Shak.
6. An experiment, or something from which a conclusion may be drawn. [Obs.] We practice likewise all conclusions of grafting and inoculating. Bacon.
7. (Law) (a) The end or close of a pleading, e.g., the formal ending of an indictment, "against the peace," etc. (b) An estoppel or bar by which a person is held to a particular position. Wharton. Conclusion to the country (Law), the conclusion of a pleading by which a party "puts himself upon the country," i.e., appeals to the verdict of a jury. Mozley & W. -- In conclusion. (a) Finally. (b) In short. -- To try conclusions, to make a trial or an experiment. Like the famous ape, To try conclusions, in the basket creep. Shak.
Syn. -- Inference; deduction; result; consequence; end; decision. See Inference.
Shades of meaning
Fernald has no entry of its own for conclusion; he lists it under demonstration, end.
Where he writes about it:
A conclusion is the absolute and necessary result of the admission of certain premises; an inference is a probable conclusion toward which known facts, statements, or admissions point, but which they do not absolutely establish; sound premises, together with their necessary conclusion, constitute a demonstration. — from demonstration