Etymologically
Log in

present

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 15 October 2026 at 14:11. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Present, “here, now”, and present, “to give; a gift”, both go back to Latin praesēns, but they came into English by different routes.[1][2][3]

Pronunciation

  • IPA: adjective and noun /ˈprez.ənt/; verb /prɪˈzent/[4]

present1 here; now

Etymology

The adjective is inherited from Middle English present, borrowed from Old French present (“evident, at hand”) (modern présent),[2][5][6] and directly from Latin praesēns (“present, at hand; immediate, prompt”) (accusative praesentem),[2][5][1] the present participle of praeesse (“to be before, be at hand”),[5][1][7] formed from prae- (“before”) and esse (“to be”).[5][1] Etymonline traces esse to Proto-Indo-European *es- (“to be”).[5][1] The noun “the present time” is from Old French present, from the adjective.[5][6] It is related to presence and absent.[3][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Being in the same place as someone: about 1303, in Mannyng's Handlyng Synne,[2] or 1340 in the OED;[8] Etymonline dates it to about 1300.[5]

Semantic evolution

“Existing at the time” is from the early 14th century.[5] The noun meant presence, as in the phrase in present, from 1303,[8] and the present time, as opposed to past and future, from about 1300.[5] “Abiding in a specified place” is from the mid-14th century.[5] “Being dealt with or considered”, as in the present case, is from 1382.[8] The present tense in grammar is from the late 14th century.[5] In old legal language, these presents means “the documents in hand”, from the late 14th century.[5][8] “Ready at hand, immediately available” is from 1539.[8]

Timeline

  • c. 1300 – in the same place; noun, the present time.[5]
  • early 14th century – existing now.[5]
  • 1382 – under consideration.[8]
  • late 14th century – the present tense, and these presents.[5]
  • 1539 – ready at hand.[8]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Existing or happening now; current.
  2. Being here or in attendance.
  3. Existing in something: iron is present in the soil.
  4. Now being considered: the present case.
  5. (grammar) Of a tense expressing current time.

Noun

  1. The time now passing; now.
  2. (grammar) The present tense.
  3. (these presents) (law) The document in question.

Word family

  • presently
  • presence
  • omnipresent

present2 give; gift

Etymology

The noun “gift” is inherited from Middle English present, borrowed from Old French present, from the phrases en present (“in the presence of”) and mettre en present (“to place before, give”),[2][5][6] from Late Latin in praesentī (“face to face”), ultimately Latin in rē praesentī (“in the situation in question”).[2][5] The verb is inherited from Middle English presenten, borrowed from Old French presenter (“to bring before, give”),[5][6] from Latin praesentāre (“to place before, show, exhibit”),[5][1][7] from the stem of praesēns.[5][1] It is related to presentation and represent.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

A thing offered as a gift: probably before 1200, in the Ancrene Riwle,[2] or before 1225;[8] Etymonline gives about 1200.[5] The verb, “to bring into someone's presence, introduce formally”, is from about 1300.[5]

Semantic evolution

The verb also meant “to give as a gift or award” from about 1300.[5] “To exhibit, offer for inspection” is from the late 14th century, as is the legal sense “to make a formal charge”.[5] “To represent, portray” is from about 1400.[5] Present arms, “to hold a firearm upright in front of the body”, is by 1759,[5] and the military noun present, the position of a firearm when aimed, from the 19th century.[6] To introduce a young woman at court, or a programme to the public, are later senses.[9]

Timeline

  • before 1200 – noun, a gift (Ancrene Riwle).[2]
  • c. 1300 – verb, to introduce; to give.[5]
  • late 14th century – verb, to exhibit; to charge formally.[5]
  • c. 1400 – verb, to portray.[5]
  • 1759 – present arms.[5]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. To give as a gift or award; to give to.
  2. To introduce formally.
  3. To bring before the public; to host a broadcast.
  4. To offer for consideration; to show or display.
  5. To aim or point a weapon.

Noun

  1. Something presented; a gift.

Word family

  • presenter
  • presentable
  • presentation
  • representative
  • absent
  • essence
  • represent
  • presentiment

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z 27 28 29 30 Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ a b c d e Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b c d Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  9. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin