English
predacious
Predacious comes from Latin praedor ‘to acquire loot, such as through robbery or war’, and goes back to praeda.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpraeda‘plunder, booty, loot’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEpraedor‘to acquire loot, such as through robbery or war’
- Englishearliest quotation 2017predacious
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpraeda‘plunder, booty, loot’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEpraedor‘to acquire loot, such as through robbery or war’
- Englishearliest quotation 2017predacious
Earliest quotation: 2017, Hernan Diaz, In the Distance: “‘Behold the predacious lion that butchered our flock!’”
Formed from -acious
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *gʰed- ‘to find’
yet, guess, prison, surprise, prize, comprehensive, comprise, apprentice, comprehend, comprehension, apprehensive, apprehend, reprehensible, apprehension, reprieve, beget, impregnable, impresario, prehensile, 32 more
through Latin praedor ‘to acquire loot, such as through robbery or war’
Today it means
adj —
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin praeda / predacious