English
presentation
Presentation comes from Latin praesentātiō ‘representation, exhibition’, from praesum ‘to preside or rule over’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH- ‘to be, become, grow, appear’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰuH-1‘to be, become, grow, appear’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰúHt1‘to become’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*ezom~*som1reconstructed
- Archaic Latinc. 700–75 BCE𐌄𐌔𐌏𐌌1esom
- Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEesum1
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsum1‘to be, exist’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEpraesum1‘to preside or rule over’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEpraesens2
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEpraesentō3‘to present, exhibit or show’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEpraesentātiō4‘representation, exhibition’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEpraesentātiōnem4accusative singular of praesentātiō
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400presentation4
- Englishearliest quotation 1765–1769presentation4
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin praesens
- 2 Wiktionary, Latin praesento
- 3 Wiktionary, Latin praesentatio
- 4 Wiktionary, English presentation
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1765–1769, William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England: “If the bishop admits the patron's presentation, the clerk…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰuH-Wiktionary, Latin praesens‘to be, become, grow, appear’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰúHtWiktionary, Latin praesens‘to become’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*ezom~*somWiktionary, Latin praesensreconstructed
- Archaic Latinc. 700–75 BCE𐌄𐌔𐌏𐌌Wiktionary, Latin praesensesom
- Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEesumWiktionary, Latin praesens
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsumWiktionary, Latin praesens‘to be, exist’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEpraesumWiktionary, Latin praesens‘to preside or rule over’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEpraesensWiktionary, Latin praesento
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEpraesentōWiktionary, Latin praesentatio‘to present, exhibit or show’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEpraesentātiōWiktionary, English presentation‘representation, exhibition’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEpraesentātiōnemWiktionary, English presentationaccusative singular of praesentātiō
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400presentationWiktionary, English presentation
- Englishearliest quotation 1765–1769presentationWiktionary, English presentation. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1765–1769, William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England: “If the bishop admits the patron's presentation, the clerk…”
Formed from present + -ation
Latin sum ‘to be’
Latin praesum ‘to be present, be in front of’
Latin praesēns ‘present’
Old French present
Middle English present
English present
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH- ‘to be, become, grow, appear’
be, been, build, physical, bush, bound, bond, physician, booth, probability, contribution, favorable, distribute, bun, favourable, contributor, fiat, bouquet, imp, bower, rebuke, retribution, attribution, beamer, bosque, physic, aren, phylogeny, phylum, boor, bist, futur, approbation, 76 more
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰúHt ‘to become’
power, possible, bondage, impossibility, impotent, busk, 13 more
through Old Latin esum
through Latin sum ‘to be, exist’
future, improve, proud, pride, absence, essential, approve, entity, absent, prowess, prude, prow, 13 more
through Latin praesentō ‘to present, exhibit or show’
Today it means
noun The act of presenting, or something presented.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “presentation”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin praesens, Latin praesento, Latin praesentatio. 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 *bʰuH- / presentation