"When Mitscherlich discovered that Glauber's salt gave a definite pressure of water vapor, he at once formed the hypothesis, that is, supposition, that other hydrates would be found to do likewise. Experiments showed this supposition to be correct. The hypothesis was at once displaced by the fact. This sort of hypothesis predicts the probable existence of certain facts or connections of facts; hence, reviving a disused word, we call it a stochastic hypothesis (Greek στοχαστικός, apt to divine the truth by conjecture). It differs from the other kind in that it professes to be composed entirely of verifiable facts and is subjected to verification as quickly as possible."
Alexander Smith. Inorganic Chemistry. 1909.

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