Predetermined

How to spell predetermined

13 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce predetermined

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does predetermined mean?

1. adjectiveDecided, arranged, or fixed in advance before something happens.

Predetermined in a sentence

• The meeting followed a predetermined agenda that nobody could change.

• Each payment was made on a predetermined date every month.

Where does predetermined come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word builds on the verb 'determine', which English took during the 1300s from the Old French 'determiner', itself from the Latin 'determinare', meaning to set bounds to or to fix limits on something. That Latin verb was made from 'de-', here acting as an intensifier, and 'terminus', the everyday Latin noun for a boundary stone or end point, the same root that gives us 'terminal' and 'terminate'. The original idea was literally to mark off the edges of a thing, which softened over time into the modern sense of settling or deciding a matter firmly. The prefix 'pre-', from the Latin 'prae' meaning before, was attached to signal a decision made in advance, and 'predetermined' appears in English from the 1500s. Remembering that hidden 'termin' boundary inside the middle of the word helps keep all four syllables in place when spelling it.

How the word is built

• pre- (before)
• de- (down, completely)
• termin (from Latin terminus: boundary, limit)
• -ed (past participle / adjective suffix)