Where does “preamble” come from?
Preamble comes from Old French preambule, from Latin praeambulum, meaning a walking before, derived from Latin ambulo, to walk, with the prefix ambi-, both, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European h₂m̥bʰi.
preamble (English): A short preliminary statement or remark,...
Definitions
- A short preliminary statement or remark,...
Ancestry of “preamble”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old French | preambule | preamble |
| 2 | Medieval Latin | praeambulum | preamble, preface |
| 3 | Latin | praeambulus | preceding; preparatory; forerunner |
| 4 | Latin | praeambulo | I walk before |
| 5 | Latin | ambulō | to traverse, travel |
| 6 | Latin | ambi- | around, about |
| 7 | Latin | ambō | both |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂m̥bʰi | around, on either side of, about; in exchange... |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂n̥tbʰi | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂énts | forehead; front |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂ent- | face; forehead; front |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂en- | on, onto |