Etymograph

English

preposition

Preposition comes from Latin praepositio, from praepono ‘to place before’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *tḱey- ‘to build, cultivate’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tḱey-1‘to build, cultivate’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tḱinéti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sinō1‘to put in place’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CE*sinō2‘to put in place’reconstructed
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpōnō3‘to place’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpraepono4‘to place before’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpraepositio4
  8. Old Frenchc. 842–1400preposicion4
  9. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500preposicioun4‘a preposition’
  10. Englishearliest quotation 1811preposition4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin sino
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin pono
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Latin praepono
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English preposition
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1811, 1516, Robert Fabyan: “[…] he made a longe preposicion & oracion cōcernynge…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tḱey-Wiktionary, Latin sino‘to build, cultivate’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tḱinétiWiktionary, Latin sinoreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sinōWiktionary, Latin sino‘to put in place’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CE*sinōWiktionary, Latin pono‘to put in place’reconstructed
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpōnōWiktionary, Latin praepono‘to place’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpraeponoWiktionary, English preposition‘to place before’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpraepositioWiktionary, English preposition
  8. Old Frenchc. 842–1400preposicionWiktionary, English preposition
  9. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500preposiciounWiktionary, English preposition‘a preposition’
  10. Englishearliest quotation 1811prepositionWiktionary, English preposition. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1811, 1516, Robert Fabyan: “[…] he made a longe preposicion & oracion cōcernynge…”

Formed from pre- + position

Proto-Italic *prai ‘before’

Proto-Italic *prai- ‘pre-, before’

English pre-

Proto-Indo-European *tḱey- ‘to build’

…

Latin positus ‘placed’

Latin positiō ‘a putting, position’

Old French posicion

Middle English posicioun ‘position’

English position

The story

So called because it is placed before the word with which it is phrased, as in a bridge of iron, he comes from town, it is good for food, he escaped by running.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *tḱey- ‘to build, cultivate’

homeless, suppose, compound, hamlet, impose, bohemian, homely, hame, 50 more

through Proto-Italic *sinō ‘to put in place’

compost, suppository, impost, compositor, apposite, presupposition, 39 more

through Latin *sinō ‘to put in place’

site, situation, posture, situate, compostela, supposition, positivism, situs, 16 more

through Latin pōnō ‘to place’

post, purpose, positive, opposite, opponent, opposition, expose, propose, composition, dispose, consolation, compose, proposition, proponent, exposition, repository, exponent, disposition, deposition, expound, imposition, posit, pone, presuppose, 47 more

Today it means

noun Any of a class of non-inflecting words and multiword terms typically employed to connect a following noun or a pronoun, in an adjectival or adverbial sense, with some other word: a particle used with a noun or pronoun (in English always in the objective case) to make a phrase limiting some other word.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “preposition”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin sino, Latin pono, Latin praepono. 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 *tḱey- / preposition

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