preschool

Etymology

It is formed from English pre- (“before”) + school.^{[2][3][4][5][6]}

Earliest recorded meaning

Of the time or age before a child is old enough for school: 1879, in Alexander Bain's Education as a Science.^[2] Other dictionaries date the adjective later: Etymonline to 1886, Merriam-Webster to 1914 and Barnhart to 1924.^[4][5][3]

Semantic evolution

The adjective soon also described a class or centre attended by children not yet old enough for school.^[2] The noun, a nursery school, began in the United States: the OED's first record is from 1925,^[2] Merriam-Webster dates it about 1925 and Barnhart 1934, while Etymonline gives 1910.^[5][3][4] In British use the adjective refers to the age before compulsory education begins.^[7]

Timeline

• 1879 – adjective, of the years before school age.^[2]
• 1910 – noun, a nursery school, in Etymonline's dating.^[4]
• 1925 – the noun, in the OED's first record.^[2][5]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Of or relating to the years of a child's life before it starts school, or to children of that age: preschool children.^[7][5][2]
2. Of services such as playgroups, provided for children of this age.^[7][2]

Noun

1. A school for young children before kindergarten or primary school; a nursery school.^[5][2][3]

Related words

• preschooler
• school

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins