English
prevertical
From pre- + vertical.
Proto-Indo-European *wert- ‘to turn, to rotate, spin’
…
Latin vertō ‘to turn around, turn about’
Latin vertex ‘vortex, crown of the head (genitive)’
Late Latin verticālis ‘located over the head, vertically above’
Middle French vertical
English vertical
Today it means
adj anterior to a vertex
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / prevertical