English
preclude
Preclude comes from Latin praeclūdere, from claudō ‘to shut up, close, lock’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kleh₂w-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kleh₂w-‘to close something’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*klaudō‘to close’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEclaudō‘to shut up, close, lock’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEpraeclūdere
- Englishearliest quotation 1837preclude
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kleh₂w-‘to close something’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*klaudō‘to close’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEclaudō‘to shut up, close, lock’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEpraeclūdere
- Englishearliest quotation 1837preclude
Earliest quotation: 1837, Letitia Elizabeth Landon, The Influence of an Invitation: “Now, own the truth,—are you not very sorry that…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *kleh₂w- ‘to close something’
include, cataract, conclave, subclavian, 28 more
through Proto-Italic *klaudō ‘to close’
closet, disclose, enclose, inclusiveness, 26 more
through Latin claudō ‘to shut up, close, lock’
close, exclusive, conclusion, clause, closure, inclusion, inclusive, conclude, exclude, cloister, claustrophobia, occlusion, sluice, recluse, cloture, 31 more
Today it means
verb To remove the possibility of; to rule out; to prevent or exclude; to render impossible.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *kleh₂w- / preclude