Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “premonition” come from?

Premonition comes from Anglo-Norman premunition, from Latin praemonitio, a noun formed from the prefix prae- meaning "before" and moneō meaning "to warn," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European per-.

premonition (English): A clairvoyant or clairaudient experience, such as...

Definitions

  1. A clairvoyant or clairaudient experience, such as...

Ancestry of “premonition”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Anglo-Normanpremunitionforewarning; advanced warning
2Ecclesiastical Latinpraemonitionema forewarning; accusative singular of praemonitiō
3Latinpraemonitusforewarned; predicted
4Latinpraemoneō—
5Latinpraebefore; in front; in front of
6Proto-Italicprai—
7Proto-Indo-Europeanpreh₂-before, in front
8Proto-Indo-Europeanper-before, in front; first; to go through
9Proto-Indo-Europeanpr̥tóspassed , crossed
Every word from Proto-Indo-European pr̥tós →