Etymograph

English

appraise

Appraise comes from Old French aprisier ‘apraise, set a price on’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *per- ‘in front’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*per-1‘in front’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pr-é-ti ~ *pr-ó-ti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pretjom1reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpretium2‘price, value’
  5. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEappretiare2
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400aprisier2‘apraise, set a price on’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500apreisen2
  8. Englishtodayappraise2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin pretium
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English appraise

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*per-Wiktionary, Latin pretium‘in front’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pr-é-ti ~ *pr-ó-tiWiktionary, Latin pretiumreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pretjomWiktionary, Latin pretiumreconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpretiumWiktionary, English appraise‘price, value’
  5. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEappretiareWiktionary, English appraise
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400aprisierWiktionary, English appraise‘apraise, set a price on’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500apreisenWiktionary, English appraise
  8. EnglishtodayappraiseWiktionary, English appraise

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *per- ‘in front’

first, before, far, per, support, report, further, private, fear, press, opportunity, port, practice, primary, pre, prior, prime, afford, ford, forth, pregnant, appreciate, practical, par, interpretation, privilege, ferry, parade, fare, porch, pardon, pirate, primitive, peril, interpreter, afar, pore, privy, proton, firth, 151 more

through Latin pretium ‘price, value’

price, prize, precious, prix, depreciation, 1 more

Today it means

verb To determine the value or worth of (something), particularly as a person appointed for this purpose.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “appraise”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin pretium. 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 *per- / appraise

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