Etymograph

English

prey

Prey comes from Old French preie ‘booty’, and perhaps goes back to Proto-Indo-European *gʰed- ‘to find’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʰed-1‘to find’uncertain
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*praiɣodā1‘plunder, booty’uncertain
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpraeda2‘plunder, booty, pillage, spoils of war, property taken in war’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400preie2‘booty’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500preye2
  6. Englishearliest quotation c. 1603–1606prey2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin praeda
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English prey
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of King Lear: “Hog in sloth, fox in stealth, […] lion in…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʰed-Wiktionary, Latin praeda‘to find’uncertain
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*praiɣodāWiktionary, Latin praeda‘plunder, booty’uncertain
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpraedaWiktionary, English prey‘plunder, booty, pillage, spoils of war, property taken in war’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400preieWiktionary, English prey‘booty’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500preyeWiktionary, English prey
  6. Englishearliest quotation c. 1603–1606preyWiktionary, English prey. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of King Lear: “Hog in sloth, fox in stealth, […] lion in…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *gʰed- ‘to find’

yet, guess, surprise, prison, prize, comprehensive, comprise, apprentice, comprehend, comprehension, apprehension, apprehensive, reprehensible, apprehend, reprieve, beget, impregnable, impresario, prehensile, 32 more

through Latin praeda ‘plunder, booty, pillage, spoils of war,…’

predator, predation, 9 more

Another origin of prey

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʰed-‘to find’uncertain
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*praiɣodā‘plunder, booty’uncertain
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpraeda‘plunder, booty, loot’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpraedor‘to acquire loot, such as through robbery or war’
  5. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEpraedōcollateral form of praedor
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400praer
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500praien
  8. Englishtodayprey

Today it means

noun That which is or may be seized by animals to be devoured.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “prey”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin praeda. 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 *gʰed- / prey

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