Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “prefectural” come from?

Prefectural derives from English prefecture, which comes from Latin praefectura, the office or position of a praefectus, an official appointed to make or put in place, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European dʰeh₁- meaning to put or place.

prefectural (English): Of, pertaining to or at the level of a prefecture

Definitions

  1. Of, pertaining to or at the level of a prefecture

Ancestry of “prefectural”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishprefectureThe office or position of a prefect; The...
2Middle Frenchpréfecture—
3Latinpraefectūra—
4Latinpraefectusofficer, prefect, superintendent, official,...
5LatinpraeficioI place in command
6Latinfaciō—
7Latin-toriumnominative neuter singular of -tōrius; accusative...
8Latin-tōrius—
9Latin-tor-er
10Proto-Italic-tōr—
11Proto-Indo-European-tōrDerives agent nouns from verbs, denoting someone...
12Proto-Indo-European-tor-s—

Words derived from “prefectural”

  • subprefectural
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -tor-s →