Etymologically
Log in

prêt

Etymology and origin of the French word prêt

History Permalink

French has two words spelled prêt: the adjective prêt “ready”, inherited from Late Latin praestus, and the noun prêt “loan”, formed on the verb prêter.[1][2]

prêt1 ready

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
c. 1050 (prest)
Inherited from
Latin praestus via Old French
Ultimate origin
Latin (praestō)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /pʁɛ/[2]
  • IPA: /pʁɛ.t‿/[2]
  • IPA: /pʁe.t‿/[2]

Forms

prêt (feminine prête, masculine plural prêts, feminine plural prêtes)[2] Old French prest, feminine preste; the Académie wrote prest until 1718 and has had prêt since 1740.[1][3]

Etymology

The adjective is inherited from Old French prest, inherited from Late Latin praestus (“ready, at hand”), found in inscriptions and the Salic Law.[4][5][6][7][2] “Praestus” was formed on the classical adverb praestō (“at hand, present”), probably from the common phrase “praesto esse” “to be present, to assist”.[5][4] The origin of “praestō” is unknown: it has been explained as “*prae-sito”, from the root of stō (“to stand”), or compared with Sanskrit हस्त (hásta, “hand”).[4] It is a doublet of preste, borrowed from Italian.[2]

Cognate with Italian presto, Occitan prest, Catalan prest and Spanish presto.[6][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found from about 1050 as prest, meaning “entirely prepared”; in the Chanson de Roland (1080) it is said of a person ready to act.[4][6]

Semantic evolution

The modern use was settled by the 11th century.[4] It was first followed by de (about 1160), which was ousted by à (1260), partly because prêt de sounded like près de.[4] Prêt à tout dates from 1673 and fin prêt from 1934.[4] Old French also used it for imminence (about 1180), prêt de “about to”; the Académie condemned this use in 1964 to keep prêt à “willing to” apart from près de “on the point of”.[4] The compound prêt-à-porter (1951) is a calque of English ready-to-wear.[4]

Timeline

  • c. 1050 – Prest “prepared”.[4][1]
  • 1080 – Of a person ready to act, in the Chanson de Roland.[4]
  • 1260 – Prest à.[4]
  • 1673 – Prêt à tout.[4]
  • 1951 – Prêt-à-porter.[4]
  • 1964 – The Académie condemns prêt de “about to”.[4]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. ready, prepared: le dîner est prêt, fin prêt.[9][6]
  2. Prêt à: ready to, willing to: prêt à partir, prêt à tout.[9][8]

Word family

  • prêt-à-porter

prêt2 loan

Confidence
Established
Formation
Back-formation
First attested
c. 1165, Benoît de Sainte-Maure, Troie (prest)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /pʁɛ/[2]
  • IPA: /pʁɛ.t‿/[2]
  • IPA: /pʁe.t‿/[2]

Forms

prêt m (plural prêts)[2]

Etymology

The loan is a noun formed from the verb prêter.[3][1][5][2] “Prêter” is inherited from Latin praestō (“to provide, offer”), which in Late Latin took the sense “to lend”.[5] Compare English prest “loan; tax”.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found as prest about 1165 in Benoît de Sainte-Maure's Roman de Troie, meaning the act of lending.[3]

Semantic evolution

In Chrétien de Troyes (1176–1181) it meant the thing or sum lent.[3] The legal sense of a contract of loan is recorded in 1671, with prêt à intérêt, prêt à usage and prêt de consommation date from 1832, maison de prêt “pawnshop” from 1835 and prêt d'honneur from 1875.[3][10] From the 14th century it was the soldiers' pay (1360–1370), and in 1872 an advance on wages.[3]

Timeline

  • c. 1165 – Prest “lending”.[3]
  • 1176–1181 – A thing lent, in Chrétien de Troyes.[3]
  • 1360–1370 – Soldiers' pay.[3]
  • 1671 – The contract of loan, prêt à intérêt.[3]
  • 1835 – Maison de prêt.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. lending: le prêt des livres.[11][8]
  2. A loan of money: faire un prêt, rembourser un prêt.[11][8]
  3. (law) A contract of loan: prêt à usage, prêt de consommation.[8]
  4. (military) The pay of soldiers.[3]
  • prêter
  • prêteur
  • apprêter
  • preste
  • presto

References

  1. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  6. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 9, 317b
  8. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  9. ^ a b Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
  10. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  11. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Prêt.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/pr%C3%AAt. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·