Where does “Christmas present” come from?
Christmas present (English) comes from English present, from Middle English present, from Old French present, from Latin praesēns, from Latin praeesse, from Latin praesum, from Latin prae-, from Proto-Italic prai- — passed , crossed.
Christmas present (English): Used other than with a figurative or idiomatic...
Definitions
- Used other than with a figurative or idiomatic...
Ancestry of “Christmas present”, step by step
Christmas present traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English present
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | present | Relating to now, for the time being; current;... |
| 2 | Middle English | present | — |
| 3 | Old French | present | gift; present; present |
| 4 | Latin | praesēns | present, immediate, at hand, existing |
| 5 | Latin | praeesse | present active infinitive of praesum; be in front... |
| 6 | Latin | praesum | I am before something; I preside or rule over; I... |
| 7 | Latin | prae- | before; in front; in charge |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | prai- | pre-, before |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | preh₂- | before, in front |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | per- | before, in front; first; to go through |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | pr̥tós | passed , crossed |
via English Christmas
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Christmas | A festival or holiday commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ and incorporating various Christian, pre-Christian, pagan, and secular customs including gift-giving, which in Western Christianity is celebrated on December 25 (Christmas Day) in most places |
| 2 | Middle English | Cristemasse | Christmas the 25th of December |
| 3 | Old English | Cristes mæsse | Christmas |
| 4 | Old English | mæsse | mass |
| 5 | Vulgar Latin | messa | Eucharist, dismissal; Eucharist; dismissal;... |
| 6 | Latin | missa | Mass; Christian eucharistic liturgy; nominative... |
| 7 | Latin | missum | accusative supine of mittō; inflection of... |
| 8 | Latin | mittō | to send, dispatch, cause to go, let go, release, discharge |
| 9 | Proto-Italic | meitō | to put forth, put out |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | meyth₂- | to hurt; to exchange, remove; to replace, to... |