Where does “preexistent” come from?
Preexistent comes from Latin praexistens, combining Latin prae- (before) and existens (existing), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European roots meaning to go and forth.
preexistent (English): Existing previously; Preceding existence
Definitions
- Existing previously; Preceding existence
Ancestry of “preexistent”, step by step
preexistent traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.
via English existent
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | existent | existing; having life or being, current;... |
| 2 | Latin | existens | Alternative form of exsistens |
| 3 | Latin | existere | present active infinitive of existō |
| 4 | Latin | existo | Alternative form of exsistō; to stand forth, come... |
| 5 | Latin | ex | A name of the letter "X"; out of, from |
| 6 | Latin | commūnicō | to impart, share |
| 7 | Latin | commūnis | common, commonplace, ordinary, general, universal, shared, shared alike, of both sides, belonging to two or more together |
| 8 | Old Latin | com(m)oinis | — |
| 9 | Proto-Italic | kommoinis | common |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱom-moy-ni- | held in common |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱóm | beside, near, by, with |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱe | Deictic particle, here; Post-positional... |
| 13 | Middle English | kyt | — |
| 14 | German | kitt | putty certain kinds of cement used for fixing e.g. window panes |
| 15 | Old High German | kuti | — |
| 16 | Proto-West Germanic | kwidu | gum, resin |
| 17 | Proto-Germanic | kweduz | resin |
via French préexistant
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | préexistant | preexisting; present participle of préexister |
| 2 | French | pré- | pre- |
| 3 | Latin | prae- | before; in front; in charge |
| 4 | Proto-Italic | prai- | pre-, before |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | preh₂- | before, in front |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | per- | before, in front; first; to go through |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | pr̥tós | passed , crossed |