Etymograph

English

prepare

Prepare comes from Middle French preparer, from Latin praeparō ‘to make ready in advance’, from prae- + parō ‘to make ready’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEparō1‘to make ready’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpraeparō1‘to make ready in advance’
  3. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600preparer1‘to prepare’
  4. Englishearliest quotation c. 1591–1592prepare1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English prepare
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1591–1592, William Shakespeare, The Third Part of Henry the Sixt, […]: “Go levy men, and make prepare for war;”.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEparōWiktionary, English prepare‘to make ready’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpraeparōWiktionary, English prepare‘to make ready in advance’
  3. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600preparerWiktionary, English prepare‘to prepare’
  4. Englishearliest quotation c. 1591–1592prepareWiktionary, English prepare. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1591–1592, William Shakespeare, The Third Part of Henry the Sixt, […]: “Go levy men, and make prepare for war;”

The story

Partially a back-formation from preparation; and partially borrowed from Middle French preparer, from Classical Latin praeparāre (‘make ready in advance’), from prae- (‘pre-’) + parāre (‘make ready’).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Latin parāre ‘make ready’

parade, sever, parry, parable, 1 more

Today it means

verb To make ready for a specific future purpose; to set up; to assemble or equip; to forearm.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “prepare”. 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 / Latin parō / prepare

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