English
precursor
Precursor comes from Middle English precursour.
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500precursour
- Englishearliest quotation 2013precursor
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500precursour
- Englishearliest quotation 2013precursor
Earliest quotation: 2013, -October, In the News: “Oxygen levels on Earth skyrocketed 2.4 billion years ago,…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ḱers- ‘to run’
charge, carry, career, rush, carrier, cargo, hurry, carriage, occurrence, intercourse, chariot, carousel, caricature, corral, hurrah, recourse, recursive, cursory, carrack, 35 more
through Proto-Italic *korzō ‘to run’
corridor, discourse, courier, concurrent, recurrent, concourse, incursion, 20 more
through Latin currō ‘to run’
course, current, occur, currency, curriculum, incur, concur, corsair, courant, hussar, succour, recursion, recur, 25 more
Today it means
noun That which precurses: a forerunner, predecessor, or indicator of approaching events.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Middle English precursour / precursor