LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
prefix

prae-

prae-
Classical[prae̯]Ecclesiastical[pre]

Meaning

  1. morphemefore-
    prae- + gerō (“carry, wear”) → praegerō (“to carry or do before”)
  2. morphemein charge
  3. morphemeof very high degree
    prae- + nūbilus (“dark, cloudy, gloomy”) → praenūbilus (“very dark, cloudy, gloomy”)

Origins

  1. Proto-Indo-European*per-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*preh₂-
  3. Proto-Indo-European*préh₂i?
  4. Proto-Italic*prai
  5. Proto-Italic*prai-
  6. Latinprae-

Inherited from Proto-Italic *prai-, from *prai, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *préh₂i, from *preh₂- + *-i. Related to prae (“before”).

Descendants
  • Catalanpre-
  • Frenchpré-
  • Italianpre-
  • Portuguesepre-
  • Portuguesepré-
  • Romanianpre-
  • Spanishpre-
  • Englishpre-
  • Englishprae-
  • Englishpræ-

Quick answers

What does prae- mean in Latin?
prae-, a prefix, means “fore-; in charge; of very high degree”.
How do you pronounce prae-?
In classical Latin, [prae̯]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [pre].
Where does prae- come from?
Proto-Indo-European *per- → Proto-Indo-European *preh₂- → Proto-Indo-European *préh₂i? → Proto-Italic *prai → Proto-Italic *prai- → Latin prae-.