Etymograph

English

anticipation

Anticipation comes from Latin anticipo ‘to take or get before’, from Proto-Indo-European *kapyéti ‘to be grasping’, and ultimately from *kap-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kap-1reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kapyéti1‘to be grasping’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kapjō2‘to take, seize’reconstructed
  4. Archaic Latinc. 700–75 BCEkapiō2
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcapiō3‘take’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEanticipo4‘to take or get before’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEanticipātiō5as anticipātiō
  8. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600anticipation5
  9. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500anticipacioun5‘Proactivity, preemption’
  10. Englishearliest quotation c. 1599–1602anticipation5

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Italic *kapjō
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin capio, which cites LIV
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Latin anticipo
  4. 4 Wiktionary, Latin anticipatio
  5. 5 Wiktionary, English anticipation
  6. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1599–1602, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke: “So shall my anticipation prevent your discovery, and your…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kap-Wiktionary, Proto-Italic *kapjōreconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kapyétiWiktionary, Proto-Italic *kapjō‘to be grasping’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kapjōWiktionary, Latin capio, which cites LIV‘to take, seize’reconstructed
  4. Archaic Latinc. 700–75 BCEkapiōWiktionary, Latin capio, which cites LIV
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcapiōWiktionary, Latin anticipo‘take’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEanticipoWiktionary, Latin anticipatio‘to take or get before’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEanticipātiōWiktionary, English anticipationas anticipātiō
  8. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600anticipationWiktionary, English anticipation
  9. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500anticipaciounWiktionary, English anticipation‘Proactivity, preemption’
  10. Englishearliest quotation c. 1599–1602anticipationWiktionary, English anticipation. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1599–1602, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke: “So shall my anticipation prevent your discovery, and your…”

Equivalent to anticipate + -ion

Proto-Indo-European *kap-

…

Archaic Latin kapiō

Latin capiō ‘take’

Latin anticipō ‘to anticipate’

Latin anticipātus ‘anticipated’

English anticipate

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *kap-

had, head, except, capital, heavy, captain, catch, chapter, escape, achieve, behavior, heavily, capacity, cape, chef, cabin, haven, chapel, acceptance, behave, capitol, cattle, capita, hawk, occupation, captive, chaplain, captivity, cad, mischief, conceive, mischievous, conceivable, precipitation, haves, capillary, chieftain, capo, acceptability, caddie, 138 more

through Proto-Indo-European *kapyéti ‘to be grasping’

heave, heaving, heft, 28 more

through Proto-Italic *kapjō ‘to take, seize’

case, capsule, cashier, chassis, cassette, casket, kas, cajon, chasse, 27 more

through Archaic Latin kapiō

acceptable, imperceptible, 24 more

through Latin capiō ‘take’

cash, accept, receive, cable, capable, chase, capture, cop, recipe, reception, perception, susceptible, recipient, deceive, cater, caption, deception, deceit, deceptive, receivable, captor, perceptible, preoccupation, preceptor, captivate, sashay, 26 more

Today it means

noun The act of anticipating, taking up, placing, or considering something beforehand, or before the proper time in natural order.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “anticipation”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Italic *kapjō, Latin capio, Latin anticipo, Latin anticipatio. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *kap- / anticipation

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