Where does “price” come from?
Price comes from French prix, from German Preis, from Latin pretium meaning "value or cost," ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root gʰed- meaning "to seize or grasp."
price (English): The cost required to gain possession of...
Definitions
- The cost required to gain possession of...
Ancestry of “price”, step by step
price traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via French prix
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | prix | prize; price |
| 2 | Old French | pris | price; esteem; reputation; past participle of... |
| 3 | Latin | pretium | worth, price, value, cost; pay, hire, wage,... |
| 4 | Proto-Italic | pretjom | — |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | per- | before, in front; first; to go through |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | pr̥tós | passed , crossed |
via Middle English price
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | price | price, prize, value, excellence |