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

represent traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English present

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishpresentRelating to now, for the time being; current;...
2Middle Englishpresent
3Old Frenchpresentgift; present; present
4Latinpraesēnspresent, immediate, at hand, existing
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-pre-, before
9Proto-Indo-Europeanpreh₂-before, in front
10Proto-Indo-Europeanper-before, in front; first; to go through
11Proto-Indo-Europeanpr̥tóspassed , crossed

via Old French représenter

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchreprésenter
2LatinrepraesentoI represent, depict; I display, exhibit or show
3Latinsuffixed to nouns or adjectives. Originally a-stem nouns. Later extended to nouns with other stems. Forms regular first-conjugation verbs
4Proto-Indo-EuropeanDerives nouns from roots

Words derived from “represent

Every word from Proto-Indo-European pr̥tós