Where does “pre-” come from?

pre- (Serbo-Croatian) comes from Proto-Slavic per-, from Proto-Slavic pro-, from Proto-Slavic *pro, from Proto-Balto-Slavic *pra, from Proto-Indo-European pró, from Proto-Indo-European per-, from Proto-Indo-European pr̥tós — passed , crossed.

pre- (Serbo-Croatian): too, excessively, over-; re-, over-; Prefix...

Definitions

  1. too, excessively, over-; re-, over-; Prefix...

Ancestry of “pre-”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Proto-Slavicper-over-; re-
2Proto-Slavicpro-pro-, for-, through
3Proto-Slavic*profor
4Proto-Balto-Slavic*pra—
5Proto-Indo-Europeanprótoward, leading to
6Proto-Indo-Europeanper-before, in front; first; to go through
7Proto-Indo-Europeanpr̥tóspassed , crossed

Words derived from “pre-”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European pr̥tós →Every word from Proto-Indo-European per- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European pró →