Etymograph

English

provisor

Provisor comes from Latin prōvīsor ‘provider’, from videō ‘to see’, and 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 CEprōvideō2‘provide’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprōvīsor2‘provider’agent noun of prōvideō
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1906provisor2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin provideo
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English provisor
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1906, Henry Charles Lea, A History of the Inquisition of Spain: “The trials were prompt and at the rendering of…”.

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 provisor‘provide’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprōvīsorWiktionary, English provisor‘provider’agent noun of prōvideō
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1906provisorWiktionary, English provisor. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1906, Henry Charles Lea, A History of the Inquisition of Spain: “The trials were prompt and at the rendering of…”

Linked words

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

guy, idea, story, guide, advice, witness, wise, historic, wisdom, wit, idol, wizard, advise, historian, witty, guise, tabloid, steroid, revue, visitation, envious, druid, envision, twit, idyll, hypothyroidism, avis, witter, trapezoid, hyoid, improvise, colloid, parathyroid, weet, hyperthyroidism, sigmoid, thyroxine, thyroiditis, visite, 95 more

through Proto-Italic *widēō ‘to see’

revision, invisibility, vada, evidential, 18 more

through Latin videō ‘to see’

video, evidence, review, interview, visit, vision, evident, invisible, visa, visibility, vista, revise, prudential, jurisprudence, vide, voyeur, invidious, 17 more

through Latin prōvideō ‘provide’

prudent, prudence, purview, purveyor, 11 more

Today it means

noun A deputy of a Roman Catholic bishop.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “provisor”; 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- / provisor

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