Etymograph

English

present

Present comes from Old French present, from Latin praesēns ‘present’, participle of praesum ‘to be present’ (prae- + sum ‘to be’).

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsum1‘to be’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpraesum1‘to be present, be in front of’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpraesēns1‘present’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400present1
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500present1
  6. Englishearliest quotation c. 1603–1604present1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English present
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1603–1604, William Shakespeare, Measure for Measure: “Sign me a present pardon for my brother,”.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsumWiktionary, English present‘to be’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpraesumWiktionary, English present‘to be present, be in front of’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpraesēnsWiktionary, English present‘present’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400presentWiktionary, English present
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500presentWiktionary, English present
  6. Englishearliest quotation c. 1603–1604presentWiktionary, English present. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1603–1604, William Shakespeare, Measure for Measure: “Sign me a present pardon for my brother,”

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with present, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Latin esse ‘to be’

2 more relatives in the full family tree

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Another origin of present

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰuH-‘to be, become, grow, appear’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰúHt‘to become’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*ezom~*somreconstructed
  4. Archaic Latinc. 700–75 BCE𐌄𐌔𐌏𐌌esom
  5. Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEesum
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsum‘to be, exist’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpraesum‘to preside or rule over’
  8. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpraesens
  9. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpraesentōas praesentāre‘to show’
  10. Old Frenchc. 842–1400presenter‘to present’
  11. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500presenten
  12. Englishtodaypresent

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Today it means

adj Relating to now, for the time being; current.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “present”. 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 sum / present