prey English · revision 10665

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1225|origins=fro preie|origins=la praeda}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /preɪ/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|fro|preie|t=booty, an animal taken in the chase]] (modern proie),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from Latin [[m|la|praeda|t=booty, plunder, game]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) usually taken as a contraction of *praehēda, from prae, before, and a root meaning to seize,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) related to prehendere, to grasp (see [[prehensile]]).^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A company of men, an army: about 1225, in King Horn;^(Barnhart 1988) booty or goods taken in war, about 1250 in the OED;^(OED 1989) an animal hunted for food, about 1250 in Barnhart, before 1240 in the OED.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A victim of a hostile influence (''to fall prey to'') is from about 1325.^(OED 1989)^(Hoad 1986) In religious writing, prey could also be souls captured by Satan.^(Etymonline) The verb, to plunder or pillage, is from about 1300,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) partly from Old French preer, Late Latin praedāre,^(Etymonline) and to hunt and kill for food developed later.^(Barnhart 1988)^(AHD) ''Beast of prey'' and ''bird of prey'' are fixed phrases.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1225 – an army.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1250 – booty; an animal hunted.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1300 – to prey, plunder (verb).^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1325 – a victim.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # An animal hunted or killed by another for [[food]]; [[quarry]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A person or thing that becomes a [[victim]]: ''to fall prey to fraud''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(archaic)'' Booty or plunder.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To hunt and kill for food, with ''on'' or ''upon''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To take advantage of or exploit others.^(AHD)

+ # To weigh heavily on: ''worries preyed on his mind''.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[preyer]]

+ * [[beast of prey]]

+ * [[bird of prey]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[predator]]

+ * [[predatory]]

+ * [[depredation]]

+ * [[prehensile]]

+ * [[prison]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}