Induction

The inference of a general law from a sample of observations. Because the inference is based on a particular sample of observations, it is not certain to be true, but only more or less likely to be true. For example, if you infer that your new car is likely to start when you turn the key because it has started each of the ten times that you've turned the key before, this inference is not certain to be true. It does, however, have a high probability of being true based on the previous ten observations.

See: deduction