Etymograph

English

premove

Premove comes from Proto-Italic *moweō ‘to move’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *m(y)ewh₁-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*m(y)ewh₁-1‘to move’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*m(y)owh₁éyeti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*moweō1‘to move’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmovēre1
  5. Old Northern Frenchc. 842–1400mover1
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500moven1
  7. English1500–presentmove1
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1703premove1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English premove
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1703, James Webster: “The succeſs that the Presbyterians had in the late…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*m(y)ewh₁-Wiktionary, English premove‘to move’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*m(y)owh₁éyetiWiktionary, English premovereconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*moweōWiktionary, English premove‘to move’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmovēreWiktionary, English premove
  5. Old Northern Frenchc. 842–1400moverWiktionary, English premove
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500movenWiktionary, English premove
  7. English1500–presentmoveWiktionary, English premove
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1703premoveWiktionary, English premove. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1703, James Webster: “The succeſs that the Presbyterians had in the late…”

A compound of pre- + move

Proto-Italic *prai ‘before’

Proto-Italic *prai- ‘pre-, before’

English pre-

Proto-Indo-European *m(y)ewh₁- ‘to move, drive’

…

Proto-Italic *moweō ‘to move’

Latin moveō ‘move’

Old Northern French mover ‘to move’

Middle English moven

English move

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *m(y)ewh₁- ‘to move’

motion, 83 more

through Proto-Indo-European *m(y)owh₁éyeti

automobile, automotive, promoter, immobile, emotionless, 83 more

through Proto-Italic *moweō ‘to move’

mobile, auto, emotional, motor, promote, promotion, momentum, mobility, emotion, remote, motive, motivate, motif, mobilization, mobilize, removable, mobilisation, motility, mobilise, motile, emote, remover, 88 more

through Latin movēre

movement, 23 more

through English move

mover, 10 more

Today it means

noun On certain chess websites: a move set during the opponent's turn which is played automatically (if possible) after the opponent has made their move, done in order to save time in predictable positions.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “premove”. 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 *m(y)ewh₁- / premove

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