Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “represent” come from?

Represent comes from Old French représenter, from Latin repraesento, combining the prefix re- with praesens (present, being before), ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root h₁ésmi meaning to be.

represent (English): To present again or anew; to present by means of...

Definitions

  1. To present again or anew; to present by means of...

Ancestry of “represent”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishpresentRelating to now, for the time being; current;...
2Middle Englishpresent—
3Old Frenchpresentgift; present; present
4Latinpraesēns—
5Latinpraeessepresent active infinitive of praesum; be in front...
6LatinpraesumI am before something; I preside or rule over; I...
7Latinprae-before; in front; in charge
8Proto-Italicprai-—
9Proto-Indo-Europeanpreh₂-before, in front
10Proto-Indo-Europeanper-before, in front; first; to go through
11Proto-Indo-Europeanpr̥tóspassed , crossed

Words derived from “represent”

  • misrepresent
  • representable
  • unrepresentable
  • representability
  • representee
  • representer
  • representor
  • underrepresent
  • unrepresentability
  • overrepresent
  • representeth
  • representment
  • irrepresentable
  • nonrepresentable
  • misrepresenter
  • metarepresent
  • under-represent
  • レペゼン
Every word from Proto-Indo-European pr̥tós →