English
prescient
Prescient comes from Latin praesciēns ‘foreknowing’, and goes back to Proto-Italic *prai.
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*praireconstructed
- Proto-Italic, derivedc. 1500–700 BCE*prai-reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpraesciō‘to foreknow’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEpraesciēns‘foreknowing’
- Englishearliest quotation 1733–1734prescient
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*praireconstructed
- Proto-Italic, derivedc. 1500–700 BCE*prai-reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpraesciō‘to foreknow’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEpraesciēns‘foreknowing’
- Englishearliest quotation 1733–1734prescient
Earliest quotation: 1733–1734, Stephen Duck, London: Printed for Weaver Bickerton […]: “And if the præſcient Muſes guide my Lay, /…”
The story
Learned borrowing from Latin praesciēns (‘foreknowing; foretelling, predicting’), present participle of) Latin praesciō (‘to foreknow’), from prae- (prefix meaning ‘before; in front’) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *preh₂- (‘before; in front’)) + sciō (‘to know, understand; to have knowledge of’) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *skey- (‘to dissect; to split’)). The word is cognate with Middle French prescient (modern French prescient (‘prescient’)), Italian presciente (‘prescient’).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *skey- ‘to dissect’
nice, ship, equipment, shift, science, shed, skip, kyle, ski, scientific, conscious, shin, sheath, squire, skeet, skiff, chine, scuttle, skein, scullery, shud, 44 more
through Proto-Indo-European *preh₂- ‘before’
for, first, premier, forbid, prairie, primer, primate, primacy, parasol, parley, portobello, 17 more
through Proto-Italic *prai
through Proto-Italic *prai-
prestigious, preface, prefix, precede, preeminent, impregnate, 6 more
Today it means
adj Exhibiting or possessing prescience: having knowledge of, or seemingly able to correctly predict, events before they take place.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Italic *prai / prescient