English
prefatory
Prefatory comes from Medieval Latin praefor ‘to say, utter, mention beforehand or in advance’, from Proto-Italic *fāōr ‘to speak’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰeh₂-‘to speak’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰéh₂ti‘to speak’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*fāōr‘to speak’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfor‘to speak, talk, say’
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500praeforas *praefator‘to say, utter, mention beforehand or in advance’reconstructed
- Englishearliest quotation 1868prefatory
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰeh₂-‘to speak’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰéh₂ti‘to speak’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*fāōr‘to speak’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfor‘to speak, talk, say’
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500praeforas *praefator‘to say, utter, mention beforehand or in advance’reconstructed
- Englishearliest quotation 1868prefatory
Earliest quotation: 1868, – June 6, First Period. The Loss of the Diamond (1848). […]: “We must begin by showing how the Diamond first…”
Formed from -ory ‘agent’
The story
Note that this is borrowed from Latin, not derived in English from preface, as in occasional misspelling *prefecatory.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- ‘to speak’
phone, focus, fuel, ben, famous, phase, professor, ban, favourite, fantasy, emphasis, favor, fancy, photographer, phenomenon, fame, bee, abandon, profession, fate, confession, confess, infant, symphony, beacon, beck, fatal, fairy, phantom, boon, bane, epiphany, foyer, banish, fay, buoy, bene, banal, profess, fantasia, 121 more
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰéh₂ti ‘to speak’
through Proto-Italic *fāōr ‘to speak’
through Latin for ‘to speak, talk, say’
Today it means
adj Serving as a preface or prelude; introductory, preliminary.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- / prefatory