Etymograph

English

preoccupate

Preoccupate comes from Latin praeoccupare, from occupō ‘occupy’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *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‘capture, seize’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEoccupō4as occupare‘occupy’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpraeoccupare4
  8. Englishtodaypreoccupate4

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 occupo
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English preoccupate

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 occupo‘capture, seize’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEoccupōWiktionary, English preoccupateas occupare‘occupy’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpraeoccupareWiktionary, English preoccupate
  8. EnglishtodaypreoccupateWiktionary, English preoccupate

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *kap-

had, head, except, capital, heavy, captain, catch, behavior, escape, achieve, capacity, heavily, chapter, cape, chef, cabin, haven, chapel, acceptance, behave, capitol, cattle, capita, hawk, captive, captivity, chaplain, cad, conceive, mischief, precipitation, conceivable, mischievous, haves, capillary, chieftain, capo, cabana, caddie, heaviness, 136 more

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

heave, heaving, heft, 27 more

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

case, capsule, cashier, chassis, casket, cassette, cajon, kas, chasse, 26 more

through Archaic Latin kapiō

acceptable, imperceptible, 23 more

through Latin capiō ‘capture, seize’

cash, receive, accept, cable, capable, chase, cop, capture, perception, reception, recipe, recipient, caption, susceptible, deception, anticipation, deceive, anticipate, deceptive, deceit, cater, receivable, captor, perceptible, captivate, sashay, preceptor, 25 more

through Latin occupō ‘occupy’

occupation, 1 more

Today it means

verb To influence, to occupy (the mind) in advance; to be preoccupied with.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “preoccupate”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Italic *kapjō, Latin capio, Latin occupo. 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- / preoccupate

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