Etymograph

English

prevent

Prevent comes from Middle English preventen ‘anticipate’, and goes back to Latin praeveniō.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpraeveniō1‘to anticipate’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpraeventus1‘anticipated’perfect passive participle of praeveniō
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500preventen1‘anticipate’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1549prevent1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English prevent
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1549, Thomas Cranmer et al., London: […] Edowardi Whitchurche […]: “We pray thee that thy grace may always prevent…”.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpraeveniōWiktionary, English prevent‘to anticipate’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpraeventusWiktionary, English prevent‘anticipated’perfect passive participle of praeveniō
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500preventenWiktionary, English prevent‘anticipate’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1549preventWiktionary, English prevent. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1549, Thomas Cranmer et al., London: […] Edowardi Whitchurche […]: “We pray thee that thy grace may always prevent…”

A compound of prae ‘before’ + veniō ‘to come’

Proto-Indo-European *per- ‘before’

Proto-Indo-European *préh₂i ‘before, in front’

Proto-Italic *prai ‘before’

Latin prae ‘before’

Proto-Indo-European *gʷem- ‘to come, to step’

Proto-Indo-European *gʷm̥yéti ‘to come’

Proto-Italic *gʷəniō ‘to come’

Latin veniō ‘to come’

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Today it means

verb To stop (an outcome); to keep from (doing something).

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “prevent”. 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 praeveniō / prevent