Etymograph

English

prest

Prest comes from Old French prest ‘loan’, from prester ‘to borrow’, and ultimately from Latin stō.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEstō1
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpraestō2as praestāre‘to be preferable, better, coupled with quam’
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400prester3‘to borrow’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400prest3‘loan’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500prest3
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1548prest3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin praesto
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Old French prester
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English prest
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1548, King Edward VI: “the same tayles soe hereafter there to be levyed…”.

Earlier history not traced here. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEstōWiktionary, Latin praesto
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpraestōWiktionary, Old French presteras praestāre‘to be preferable, better, coupled with quam’
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400presterWiktionary, English prest‘to borrow’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400prestWiktionary, English prest‘loan’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500prestWiktionary, English prest
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1548prestWiktionary, English prest. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1548, King Edward VI: “the same tayles soe hereafter there to be levyed…”

Linked words

through Latin stō

stage, station, distance, instance, instant, substance, distant, arrest, extant, distal, oust, obstetric, restive, 23 more

through Middle English prest

priest

Today it means

noun A payment of wages in advance

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “prest”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin praesto, Old French prester. 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 stō / prest

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