Where does “prepenultimate” come from?
prepenultimate (English) comes from English pre, from Latin prae, from Proto-Italic prai, from Proto-Indo-European preh₂-, from Proto-Indo-European per-, from Proto-Indo-European pr̥tós — passed , crossed.
Ancestry of “prepenultimate”, step by step
prepenultimate traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English pre
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | pre | Before; Precum, Cowper's fluid, pre-ejaculate; To... |
| 2 | Latin | prae | before; in front; in front of |
| 3 | Proto-Italic | prai | before; in front of |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | preh₂- | before, in front |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | per- | before, in front; first; to go through |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | pr̥tós | passed , crossed |
via English penultimate
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | penultimate | Next to last, second to last; immediately... |
| 2 | English | -ate | having the specified thing; characterized by the... |
| 3 | Latin | -ātus | ed |
| 4 | Proto-Italic | -ātos | — |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | -éh₂tos | Forms adjectives from nouns, indicating the possession of a thing or a quality |