Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “prefect” come from?

Prefect comes from Middle English prefect, from Old French prefect, from Latin praefectus, the past participle of praeficio, formed from prae- and facio meaning "to make," ultimately deriving from Proto-Indo-European preh₂- and dʰeh₁-.

prefect (English): An official of Ancient Rome who controlled or...

Definitions

  1. An official of Ancient Rome who controlled or...

Ancestry of “prefect”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishprefect—
2Old Frenchprefect—
3Latinpraefectusofficer, prefect, superintendent, official,...
4LatinpraeficioI place in command
5Latinfaciō—
6Latin-toriumnominative neuter singular of -tōrius; accusative...
7Latin-tōrius—
8Latin-tor-er
9Proto-Italic-tōr—
10Proto-Indo-European-tōrDerives agent nouns from verbs, denoting someone...
11Proto-Indo-European-tor-s—

Words derived from “prefect”

  • subprefect
  • prefectship
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -tor-s →