Etymologically
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praesento

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [prae̯ˈsɛn.toː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [preˈs̬ɛn.to][1]

Forms

praesentō (present infinitive praesentāre, perfect active praesentāvī, supine praesentātum); first conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is from praesēns “present” with the verb suffix -ō.[2][1][3] The TLL notes that repraesentō is attested much earlier, from Cicero.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Lewis and Short cite a perfect infinitive praesentāsse from Pacuvius, whom Köbler dates 220–130 BC.[4][5]

Semantic evolution

It meant to place before, exhibit, show, present to the mind or senses, and Lewis and Short call it post-Augustan.[2][4] Pliny uses it of a stone that looks like strips of beef, and Apuleius of presenting.[4][6] The TLL finds it in Quintilian, Apuleius and the Old Latin Bible, and says Augustine uses it much more often than repraesentāre, as do later poets.[3]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant to present, show.[7] It survives in Italian presentare, French présenter and Spanish and Portuguese presentar, and English present “to bring into someone's presence” came about 1300 through Old French.[1][8]

Timeline

  • 220–130 BC – Pacuvius has the perfect infinitive.[4][5]
  • 23/24–79 AD – Pliny uses it of resembling.[4][5]
  • 354–430 AD – Augustine uses it often.[3][5]
  • c. 1300 – English present (verb) is recorded.[8]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To exhibit, show, present to the mind or senses.[2][4]
  2. To resemble, look like.[4]

Word family

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  7. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com