Etymology Explorer › Old French

Where does “preterit” come from?

preterit (Old French) comes from Latin praeteritum, from Latin praetereo, from Latin eō, from Proto-Italic eō, from Proto-Italic ejō, from Proto-Indo-European h₁éyti, from Proto-Indo-European h₁ey- — to go.

Ancestry of “preterit”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinpraeteritumnominative/accusative/vocative neuter singular of...
2LatinpraetereoI pass by or go by; I disregard, neglect, omit or...
3Latineō—
4Proto-ItaliceōI go
5Proto-Italicejō—
6Proto-Indo-Europeanh₁éytito go, to be going
7Proto-Indo-Europeanh₁ey-to go

Words derived from “preterit”

  • preterite
  • preteriteness
  • preterit
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₁ey- →