Etymograph

English

provide

Provide comes from Middle English providen, from Latin prōvideō ‘to foresee’, from videō ‘to see’, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *weyd-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*weyd-1‘to see’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*widéh₁yeti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*widēō1‘to see’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvideō1‘to see’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprōvideō2as prōvidēre‘to foresee’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500providen2
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1603provide2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin provideo
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English provide
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1603, Ben[jamin] Jonson: “We have not been covetous, honourable fathers, to change,…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*weyd-Wiktionary, Latin provideo‘to see’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*widéh₁yetiWiktionary, Latin provideoreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*widēōWiktionary, Latin provideo‘to see’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvideōWiktionary, Latin provideo‘to see’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprōvideōWiktionary, English provideas prōvidēre‘to foresee’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500providenWiktionary, English provide
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1603provideWiktionary, English provide. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1603, Ben[jamin] Jonson: “We have not been covetous, honourable fathers, to change,…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *weyd- ‘to see’

story, guy, idea, advice, witness, wise, historic, wisdom, guide, wit, wizard, historian, advise, idol, witty, guise, visitation, revue, tabloid, envious, envision, steroid, druid, twit, avis, witter, hypothyroidism, improvise, idyll, weet, trapezoid, hyperthyroidism, parathyroid, hyoid, colloid, thyroxine, visite, sigmoid, thyroiditis, 96 more

through Proto-Italic *widēō ‘to see’

revision, invisibility, vada, evidential, 19 more

through Latin videō ‘to see’

review, visit, video, interview, evidence, vision, invisible, visa, visibility, vista, evident, revise, prudential, voyeur, invidious, 18 more

through Latin prōvideō ‘to foresee, act with foresight’

prudent, jurisprudence, prudence, purview, purveyor, 10 more

Today it means

verb To make a living; earn money for necessities.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “provide”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin provideo. 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 *weyd- / provide

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