Etymologically
Log in

preparation

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 04:27. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ˌprep.ərˈeɪ.ʃən/, US /ˌprep.əˈreɪ.ʃən/[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English preparacioun, borrowed from Old French preparacion and directly borrowed from Latin praeparātiō (“a making ready”) (accusative praeparationem),[2][3][4] a noun of action from the past participle stem of praeparāre (“to prepare”) (see prepare),[2][5] from prae “before” and parāre “to make ready”,[2] from the PIE root Proto-Indo-European *pere- (“to produce, procure”).[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The action of preparing or making ready: 1390 in the OED, the late 14th century in Etymonline.[6][2]

Semantic evolution

Putting something into proper condition for use is from 1495,[6] and an introduction or preface from 1526.[6] An act that prepares for something, usually in the plural, is from 1560,[6] and equipment, especially for war, from 1583–84.[6] A capacity gained by training is from 1598.[6] A substance specially prepared, such as a medicine, is from the 1640s.[2] The getting ready of a lesson by study is from 1862,[6] and in boarding schools prep is homework or the time set for it.[7] In music, preparation is the sounding of the dissonant note in the chord before.[7] In Lancashire, a preparation day was a day of religious service before communion.[8]

Timeline

  • 1390 – the act of preparing.[6]
  • 1495 – putting into condition for use.[6]
  • 1560 – preparations, preliminary measures.[6]
  • 1640s – a prepared substance.[2]
  • 1862 – preparing a lesson.[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The act or process of getting ready.
  2. (often plural) Something done to get ready: wedding preparations.
  3. A substance specially prepared, such as a medicine or cosmetic.
  4. (British) Homework, especially at a boarding school; prep.
  5. (music) The sounding of a dissonant note in the preceding chord.

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  8. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)