Etymograph

English

praise

Praise comes from Middle English praise.

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500praise1
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1611praise1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English praise
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, Psalm 150:6: “Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord.”.

Lineage

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500praiseWiktionary, English praise
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1611praiseWiktionary, English praise. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, Psalm 150:6: “Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord.”

Another origin of praise

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*per-‘in front’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pr-é-ti ~ *pr-ó-tireconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pretjomreconstructed
  4. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEpretium‘price, worth, reward’
  5. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEpretiō‘to value, prize’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400proisier‘to value, prize’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500praisen
  8. Englishtodaypraise

Today it means

noun Commendation; favourable representation in words.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “praise”. 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 / Middle English praise / praise