Etymograph

English

preterite

Preterite comes from Latin praeteritum, from praetereō ‘to go by, go past’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *per- ‘before’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*per-1‘before’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*préh₂i2‘before, across’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*praiteros2‘in front’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpraeter3‘beyond, before, above, more than’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEeō4
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpraetereō3‘to go by, go past’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpraeteritum3
  8. Old Frenchc. 842–1400preterit3
  9. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500preterit3
  10. Englishearliest quotation 1772preterite3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *preh₂-
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin praeter
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English preterite
  4. 4 Wiktionary, Latin praetereo
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1772, John Mair, A Radical Vocabulary: “When simple verbs redouble the preterite, the compounds drop…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*per-Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *preh₂-‘before’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*préh₂iWiktionary, Latin praeter‘before, across’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*praiterosWiktionary, Latin praeter‘in front’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpraeterWiktionary, English preterite‘beyond, before, above, more than’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEeōWiktionary, Latin praetereo
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpraetereōWiktionary, English preterite‘to go by, go past’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpraeteritumWiktionary, English preterite
  8. Old Frenchc. 842–1400preteritWiktionary, English preterite
  9. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500preteritWiktionary, English preterite
  10. Englishearliest quotation 1772preteriteWiktionary, English preterite. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1772, John Mair, A Radical Vocabulary: “When simple verbs redouble the preterite, the compounds drop…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *per- ‘before’

first, before, support, far, per, further, report, fear, practice, opportunity, price, port, press, private, afford, primary, ford, prior, forth, prime, practical, appreciate, pregnant, parade, prize, par, praise, precious, privilege, porch, pardon, ferry, pirate, fare, interpretation, afar, pragmatic, primitive, prix, proton, 154 more

through Proto-Indo-European *préh₂i ‘before, across’

pre, prestigious, preface, prefix, precede, preeminent, prescient, premonition, impregnate, 8 more

through Latin eō

issue, initial, transition, exit, ambitious, ambition, ambient, trance, transient, obituary, eyre, sedition, ambiance, transitive, transitory, seditious, ambit, obit, praetor, 23 more

Today it means

adj Showing an action at a determined moment in the past.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “preterite”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Indo-European *preh₂-, Latin praeter, Latin praetereo. 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 *per- / preterite

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