prevent English · revision 2927

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1425|origins=la praeveniō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /prɪˈvent/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|preventen]],^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) [[bor|la|praeventus]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) past participle of [[m|la|praevenīre|t=to come before, anticipate, hinder]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from [[m|la|prae-|t=before]] and [[m|la|venīre|t=to come]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[ine-pro|*gʷa-|t=to go, come]].^(Etymonline) It is related to [[come]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To act in anticipation of: probably before 1425, in a translation of Higden's ''Polychronicon'',^(Barnhart 1988) the early 15th century in Etymonline,^(Etymonline) and 1432–50 in the OED.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ At first the word kept the literal Latin sense of coming or acting before: to act sooner than another person, to precede or outrun (1523),^(OED 1989) and to anticipate a question or wish, before 1533.^(OED 1989) One could once “prevent” someone's wishes by anticipating them.^(Cresswell 2021) In theology God “prevented” a person by going before with grace and guidance, from 1531.^(OED 1989)^(COED 2004) Acting in advance to thwart a plan led to the idea of stopping something from happening.^(Cresswell 2021) The sense “to keep from happening” is in Elyot's ''Dictionary'' (1548),^(Barnhart 1988) by the 1540s in Etymonline,^(Etymonline) and “to hinder”, though it existed in Latin, is not recorded in English until 1663.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) ''Prevention is better than cure'' dates from the 17th century.^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1425 – to act in anticipation of.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1523 – to act before another; to precede.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1531 – of God, to go before with grace.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1548 – to keep from happening.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1663 – to hinder.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To keep from happening; to [[avert]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To stop someone from doing something; to [[hinder]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # ''(archaic)'' To come or act before; to [[anticipate]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # ''(archaic)'' Of God, to go before a person with spiritual guidance.^(COED 2004)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[preventability]]

+ * [[preventer]]

+ * [[preventable]]

+ * [[preventingly]]

+ * [[unprevented]]

+ * [[preventative]]

+ * [[prevention]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[preventive]]

+ * [[come]]

+ * [[advent]]

+ * [[convene]]

+ * [[event]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}