Etymologically
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praevenio

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [prae̯ˈwɛ.ni.oː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [preˈvɛː.ni.o][1]

Forms

praeveniō (present infinitive praevenīre, perfect active praevēnī, supine praeventum); fourth conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is from prae- “before” and veniō “to come”.[2][1][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citation is from Plautus, of arriving first.[2] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[4]

Semantic evolution

It meant to arrive first or beforehand, as in Plautus and Livy, and in Tacitus to arrive ahead of someone.[2][5] It meant to happen first or too soon, as in Pliny, and with an object to anticipate or forestall, often so as to prevent, as in Sallust's passive.[2][5] In Quintilian it meant to take precedence over, surpass.[2] Lewis and Short call it chiefly post-Augustan.[6]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant to prevent, come before, anticipate, precede, guide.[7] English prevent came in the early 15th century from its participle praeventus, first meaning “to act in anticipation”, the Late Latin sense “to hinder” coming later.[8]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of arriving first.[2][4]
  • 86–34 BC – Sallust uses it of forestalling.[2][4]
  • 98–115 AD – Tacitus uses it of arriving ahead of.[2][4]
  • early 15th century – English prevent is recorded.[8]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To arrive first; to arrive ahead of, precede.[2]
  2. To happen first or too soon.[2]
  3. To anticipate, forestall.[2]
  4. To surpass.[2]
  5. (Ecclesiastical Latin) To prevent; to guide.[7]

Word family

  • praeventiō
  • praeventor
  • praeventus

Usage notes

Virgil splits it by tmesis in praeque diem veniēns “and coming before the day”.[6]

References

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