Where does “prescient” come from?
Prescient comes from Latin praesciens, the present participle of praescio, composed of the prefix prae- and a root ultimately from Proto-Indo-European skey-.
prescient (English): Exhibiting or possessing prescience: having...
Definitions
- Exhibiting or possessing prescience: having...
Ancestry of “prescient”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Latin | praesciens | foreknowing; predicting, foretelling |
| 2 | Latin | praescio | I foreknow, know in advance |
| 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 |