prudence

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English prudence,^[2][3] borrowed from Old French prudence,^[4][5][6][3] and directly borrowed from Latin prūdentia (“foresight, sagacity, practical judgment”),^[4][5][6] from prūdēns (“prudent”),^[6][3] a contraction of prōvidēns, the present participle of prōvideō (“to look ahead, provide for”),^[7][4] from prō (“ahead”) and videō (“to see”), from Proto-Indo-European *weid- (“to see”).^[4] Merriam-Webster, Barnhart and the Shorter Oxford describe prūdentia itself as a contraction of prōvidentia (“foresight”),^[2][5][8] so providence is a doublet of it.^[4][3] The French word is recorded from about 1200 in Old French,^[6] and the Anglo-Norman word, from the second quarter of the 13th century, already meant wisdom and discernment and named one of the four cardinal virtues.^[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

The ability to see and follow the most sensible course; practical wisdom and good sense, also as one of the cardinal virtues: 1340, in the Ayenbite of Inwyt.^[6][10] It was used earlier as a surname, about 1200 according to Etymonline^[4] and in 1203 according to Barnhart.^[10]

Semantic evolution

In Middle English the word also meant wisdom, knowledge or skill in a matter, from before 1382 in the early Wycliffite Bible; that sense was obsolete, or archaic, by 1859^[6] and survives in jurisprudence.^[4][6] It could also mean foresight or providence, from about 1425 in Lydgate's Troy Book until 1761.^[6] From before 1393, in Gower, it also meant a single prudent act, a use now rare.^[6] A rare 15th-century use names a group of vicars, in a list of terms of association.^[6] Johnson (1755) defined it as wisdom applied to practice.^[11] As with prudent, the meaning gradually came to stress discretion, caution and care for one's own interest,^[4] and modern dictionaries add care in the management of money and other resources.^[12][2]

Timeline

• 1340 – practical wisdom, good sense; also the cardinal virtue.^[6][10]
• before 1382 – wisdom, knowledge or skill in a matter (obsolete by 1859).^[6]
• before 1393 – a prudent act.^[6]
• c. 1425 – foresight, providence (obsolete by 1761).^[6]
• before 1450 – a group of vicars (rare, obsolete).^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. Good judgment and caution in practical affairs; discretion or circumspection: Prudence told her to read the contract twice before signing.^[12][2][6]
2. Skill and good judgment in managing one's resources, especially money; thrift.^[12][2]
3. Wisdom shown in the use of reason, forethought and self-control, counted as one of the four cardinal virtues.^[2][4]
4. Consideration for one's own interests.^[12]
5. (rare) A prudent act.^[6][8]
6. (obsolete, 1382–1859) Wisdom; knowledge of or skill in a matter.^[6][8]
7. (obsolete, 1425–1761) Foresight; providence.^[6][8]

Related words

• imprudence
• imprudent
• jurisprudence
• jurisprudent
• providence
• provident
• prudent
• prudential

Usage notes

Dictionary.com distinguishes prudence, care, caution and good judgment together with wise planning ahead, from calculation, which suggests a wish to gain much for little, even at others' expense,^[13] from foresight, looking far into the future,^[13] or forethought, preparing well for what is to come.^[13] The female first name Prudence is the same word.^[3][4]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
3. ^ a b c d e Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
8. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
10. ^ a b c Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
11. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
12. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
13. ^ a b c Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House