preparar

Forms

preparar (first-person singular present preparo, first-person singular preterite preparei, past participle preparado)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin praeparō (“to make ready beforehand”), a learned word.^[2][3][1] The Latin verb is formed from prae- (“before”) and parō (“to furnish, provide”).^[4][5] The same verb gave Spanish preparar, and French borrowed it in 1314 as French préparer.^[6][7]

The simple verb also has the derivatives apparō (“to prepare”) and comparō (“to prepare, obtain”).^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

Houaiss dates the verb to the 15th century, from the slips of Cunha's medieval index.^[2] Cunha's dictionary gives the 16th century, with the senses “to make ready, arrange, plan”.^[9]

Semantic evolution

Bluteau (1712–1728) defines it as “to dispose, to make ready”, with preparar hum banquete “to prepare a banquet” and prepararse para a guerra “to get ready for war”.^[10] Morais's definition of 1789 is to arrange in advance what is needed as a means to an end, with examples such as food for supper and arms for battle.^[11] The old Caldas Aulete adds the senses “to plot” and “to plan in advance”.^[12] Modern dictionaries add the scientific senses, obtaining a substance in chemistry and making up a medicine.^[2][13] In Brazil it is also used for working ground so that it can be planted.^[14]

Cunha dates preparação and preparador to the 16th century, preparativo to the 17th and preparo to the 19th.^[9]

Timeline

• 15th century – first record, in Houaiss's dating.^[2]
• 16th century – Cunha's date for the verb, and for preparação and preparador.^[9]
• 1573 – preparatório first recorded.^[9]
• 1697 – Pereira glosses it with Latin praeparo.^[15]
• 1711 – the spelling perparei in a private letter.^[16]
• 1712–1728 – Bluteau has preparar hum banquete.^[10]
• 1789 – Morais's definition.^[11]
• 1871–1874 – Vieira derives it from Latin praeparare.^[17]

Meanings

Verb

1. To make ready in advance, to arrange: preparar a sala para a festa.^[2][18]
2. To get (someone or oneself) ready; to dress: preparar-se para o jantar.^[2]
3. To put in order, to pack: preparar a bagagem.^[2]
4. To make or cook (food): preparar o jantar para os filhos.^[1][18]
5. To train or teach for a purpose, or (reflexive) to study for: preparar-se para o exame.^[2]
6. To plan beforehand; to plot: preparar uma emboscada.^[2][18]
7. To break bad news gently to (someone).^[2]
8. To bring about, to foment (fomentar).^[2][13]
9. (chemistry) To obtain (a substance) by composition or decomposition.^[2][13]
10. (pharmacy) To make up (a medicine).^[13]

Word family

• despreparo
• preparação
• preparador
• preparativo
• preparatório
• preparo

Related words

• parar

Usage notes

Preparar, apontar, fogo! “Ready, aim, fire!” is the command given to soldiers before firing.^[1] Michaelis also records preparar! alone as a military word of command.^[19]

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 l Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. preparar
3. ^ Nascentes, Antenor (1966), Dicionário etimológico resumido, Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Nacional do Livro, p. s.v. preparar
4. ^ Academia das Ciências de Lisboa, Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, revised online edition (2023–) of the Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa Contemporânea (2001), https://dicionario.acad-ciencias.pt, p. s.v. preparar
5. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. s.v. preparar
6. ^ Real Academia Española; Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2014–), Diccionario de la lengua española, 23rd ed., online version 23.8, https://dle.rae.es, p. s.v. preparar
7. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert, p. s.v. préparer
8. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
9. ^ a b c d Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. preparar
10. ^ a b Bluteau, Raphael (1712–1728), Vocabulario portuguez e latino, 8 vols. + 2 supplement vols., Coimbra / Lisboa (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. preparar
11. ^ a b Silva, António de Morais (1789), Diccionario da lingua portugueza composto pelo padre D. Rafael Bluteau, reformado, e accrescentado, 2 vols., Lisboa: Simão Thaddeo Ferreira, p. 2, 236
12. ^ Aulete, Francisco Júlio Caldas, Dicionário contemporâneo da língua portuguesa (1st ed. 1881), online as Aulete Digital, Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, https://aulete.com.br, p. s.v. preparar
13. ^ a b c d Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa, Lisboa: Priberam Informática, https://dicionario.priberam.org, p. s.v. preparar
14. ^ Instituto da Lingua Galega, Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (TLPGP), Santiago de Compostela: Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, https://ilg.usc.gal/tesouro, p. s.v. preparar
15. ^ Pereira, Bento (1697), Thesouro da lingoa portuguesa, in the 1697 edition of his Prosodia (1st ed. 1647; CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. preparar
16. ^ CLUL (ed.) (2014), P.S. Post Scriptum: Arquivo Digital de Escrita Quotidiana em Portugal e Espanha na Época Moderna, Lisboa: Centro de Linguística da Universidade de Lisboa, http://ps.clul.ul.pt, p. s.v. preparar
17. ^ Vieira, Frei Domingos (1871–1874), Grande Diccionario Portuguez ou Thesouro da lingua portugueza, 5 vols., Porto: Ernesto Chardron e Bartholomeu H. de Moraes, p. 4, 910
18. ^ a b c Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. preparar
19. ^ Michaelis: Moderno Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, São Paulo: Melhoramentos (online as Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa, https://michaelis.uol.com.br), p. s.v. preparar