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praetermitto

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word praetermitto

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
81–43 BC, Cicero
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*meyth₂-)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin mitto
English manumission
French mettre
Latin committo
English commit
English commitment
English committee
French comité
French commettre
Latin commissio
English commission
Latin remitto
French remettre
Latin omitto
Latin missus
Latin praetermitto
Latin missio
English mission
French mission
Latin admitto
English admit
French admettre
Latin praemitto
Latin circummitto

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [prae̯.tɛrˈmɪt.toː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [pre.terˈmit.to][1]

Forms

praetermittō (present infinitive praetermittere, perfect active praetermīsī, supine praetermissum); third conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin praeter- (“past”) + mittō (“to let go, send”).[2][1][3] De Vaan traces ⟨mittō⟩ to Proto-Italic *meite/o- and Proto-Indo-European *m(e)ith₂- (“to exchange, remove”), from which the senses “give” and then “let go, send” developed.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's examples begin with Cicero:[2] in the Pro Murena he asks his hearers to set aside Cato's authority.[2][5]

Semantic evolution

It is to let pass, as Cicero who let no day go by, and in Statius to carry past.[6][2] It is to overlook or disregard, to leave out of a statement, as a word or words omitted, to fail to take an opportunity, as men who passed over honours for fear of danger, and to leave undone, as a parricide who seems to have left no crime undone.[2]

Church Latin glosses it “let pass, omit, neglect, overlook”.[7] English pretermit (1510s) comes from it.[3]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of overlooking, omitting and neglecting.[2][5]
  • c. 45–96 AD – Statius of carrying past.[2][5]
  • 1510s – English pretermit.[3]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To let pass; to carry past.[2][1][6]
  2. To disregard, overlook.[2][1][7]
  3. To leave out, omit (to mention).[2][1]
  4. To let slip (an opportunity); to leave undone, neglect.[2][1][7]

Word family

  • praetermissiō

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  5. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
Cite this entry

“Praetermitto.” Etymologically, 19 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/praetermitto. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·