Where does “prealternate” come from?

prealternate (English) comes from English alternate, from Latin alternātus, from Latin alternō, from Latin alternus, from Latin alter, from Proto-Indo-European h₂élteros, from Proto-Indo-European h₂el- — to grow, nourish; beyond, other; to wander, roam.

prealternate (English): Describing the moult that precedes the formation of a birds alternate plumage

Definitions

  1. Describing the moult that precedes the formation of a birds alternate plumage

Ancestry of “prealternate”, step by step

prealternate traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English alternate

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishalternateHappening by turns; one following the other in...
2Latinalternātusalternated, vacillated
3Latinalternōto do one thing and then another, do by turns, interchange, alternate
4Latinalternusalternate (one after the other), successive
5Latinalterthe other, the second; the one...the other
6Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂élterosother , second
7Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂el-to grow, nourish; beyond, other; to wander, roam

via English pre

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishpreBefore; Precum, Cowper's fluid, pre-ejaculate; To...
2Latinpraebefore; in front; in front of
3Proto-Italicpraibefore; in front of
4Proto-Indo-Europeanpreh₂-before, in front
5Proto-Indo-Europeanper-before, in front; first; to go through
6Proto-Indo-Europeanpr̥tóspassed , crossed
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂el-