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praebeo

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word praebeo

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 250–184 BC, Plautus
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*gʰeh₁bʰ-)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin habeo
French avoir
Latin antehabeo
Latin posthabeo
Latin perhibeo
Latin prohibeo
Latin habilis
Latin praebeo
Latin diribeo
Latin debeo
French devoir

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈprae̯.be.oː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈprɛː.be.o][1]

Forms

praebeō (present infinitive praebēre, perfect active praebuī, supine praebitum); second conjugation[1] Plautus has the old infinitive praeberier.[2][3] Late inscriptions spell it pre-.[4]

Etymology

It is contracted from praehibeō, formed from Latin prae- + habeō (“to have, hold”), “to hold out before”.[3][2][4][1] The TLL compares Ancient Greek παρέχω (parékhō, “to provide”).[4] De Vaan derives habeō from Proto-Italic *xabē- (“to have, hold”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰh₁bʰ- (“to take”).[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Plautus has ut modestē ōrātiōnem praebuit!, “how modestly she delivered her speech!”, and piscātōrēs, quī praebent populō piscīs foetidōs, “fishmongers who supply the people with stinking fish”.[3]

Semantic evolution

Praebēre is first to hold something out within sight or reach, “to present, show”, then to offer for acceptance, and to expose oneself or one's body to something unpleasant.[3][2][1] Its commonest sense is “to provide, supply, furnish”, also of services, conditions and opportunities, and it means “to cause, produce” (an impression, fear).[3][1] With a reflexive pronoun sē praebēre is “to show oneself, behave” (as brave, as a friend).[3][2][6]

Döderlein says praebēre and exhibēre denote a voluntary act that satisfies a need or wish of the receiver.[7] Church Latin glosses it “grant, furnish, offer, hold out, exhibit, yield, show”.[6] Its derivatives include praebenda.[1]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus: ut modestē ōrātiōnem praebuit!;[3][8] quī praebent populō piscīs foetidōs.[3][8]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero speaks of blood offered up to cruelty.[3][8]
  • c. 50 BC – Caesar: tantam opīniōnem timōris praebuit, “he gave such an impression of fear”.[3][8]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To hold out, present, show.[3][2][1][6]
  2. To offer.[3][1][6]
  3. To expose (oneself, one's body).[3]
  4. To provide, supply, furnish, grant.[3][2][1][6]
  5. To cause, produce.[3]
  6. (reflexive) To show oneself, behave.[3][2][1][6]

Word family

  • praebenda
  • praebia
  • praebitiō
  • praebitor
  • praebita
  • praebitus

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  5. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  6. ^ a b c d e f Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  7. ^ Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper
  8. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Praebeo.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/praebeo. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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