Where does “preterite” come from?
Preterite comes from Middle English preterit, from Old French preterit, from Latin praeteritum meaning "gone by" or "past," derived from praetereo meaning "to go past," from eo meaning "to go," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European per-.
preterite (English): showing an action at a determined moment in the...
Definitions
- showing an action at a determined moment in the...
Ancestry of “preterite”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | preterit | — |
| 2 | Old French | preterit | — |
| 3 | Latin | praeteritum | nominative/accusative/vocative neuter singular of... |
| 4 | Latin | praetereo | I pass by or go by; I disregard, neglect, omit or... |
| 5 | Latin | eō | to go, to fare, to move (oneself) (any kind of animate or inanimate motion: walk, ride, sail, fly, etc.) |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | eō | I go |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | ejō | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁éyti | to go, to be going |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁ey- | to go |