prepare English · revision 4595

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1466|origins=la praeparare}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /prɪˈpeə/, US /prɪˈper/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|preparen]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) [[bor|frm|préparer]] (14th century),^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) and directly [[der|la|praeparāre|t=to make ready beforehand]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(NODE 1998) from prae “before” and parāre “to make ready”,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[ine-pro|*perH-|alt=*pere-|t=to produce, procure]].^(Etymonline) Etymonline takes it in part as a back-formation from [[preparation]] (about 1390).^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) It replaced the earlier preparaten, preperaten (1392, about 1395), from the Latin past participle praeparātus.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) It is related to [[pare]] and [[apparatus]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To make ready beforehand, to set in order for an end: 1466 in the OED and Barnhart,^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988) the mid-15th century in Etymonline.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ To make food ready to eat is from the late 15th century, in Caxton.^(Etymonline) To get oneself ready is from about 1500 (1509 in the OED),^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and to bring into a state of mental readiness from the 1520s (1526).^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) ''Be prepared'', to be ready, is from 1579,^(OED 1989) and as the Boy Scouts' motto from 1911, based, as Baden-Powell said, on his own initials.^(Etymonline) To get a speech or lesson ready by study is from 1683,^(OED 1989) and to train a person for an examination from 1891.^(OED 1989) The noun prepare, preparation, from 1535, is obsolete or dialectal.^(OED 1989) ''Preparatory'' is from 1413.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1390 – ''preparation''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1466 – to make ready.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * late 15th century – to prepare food.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1509 – to get ready.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1526 – to prepare mentally.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1683 – to prepare a speech by study.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1911 – ''Be Prepared''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To make ready beforehand for a purpose or event.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To make or put together, as food or a [[medicine]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To make oneself or someone ready, mentally or by training.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(music)'' To lead up to and soften a [[dissonance]].^(AHD)

+ # ''be prepared to'': to be willing to.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[preparedly]]

+ * [[preparer]]

+ * [[reprepare]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[preparation]]

+ * [[preparatory]]

+ * [[pare]]

+ * [[apparatus]]

+ * [[repair]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}