Preparation

How to spell preparation

11 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce preparation

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does preparation mean?

1. nounThe act or process of making something ready in advance.
2. nounA substance or mixture made up for a particular use, such as a medicine or cosmetic.

Preparation in a sentence

• Weeks of careful preparation went into the product launch.

• The pharmacist mixed a soothing preparation for the burn.

• Thorough preparation is the key to passing the certification exam.

• This herbal preparation is applied directly to the skin.

Where does preparation come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word descends from the Latin praeparatio, the noun form of the verb praeparare, which meant 'to make ready in advance'. That verb was built from the prefix prae-, meaning 'before', and parare, meaning 'to make ready' or 'to furnish'. English took the word in through Old French preparacion during the late 1300s and early 1400s, when it referred to the act of getting something ready ahead of time. The same parare root sits inside a surprising family of everyday words, including 'repair', 'apparatus', and 'separate', all of which involve the idea of making or arranging. For spelling, it helps to remember the buried verb 'prepare': the trap is the unstressed middle vowel, written 'a' in prep-a-ration even though the ear hears only a vague schwa.

How the word is built

• pre- (before)
• par (from parare: to make ready)
• -ation (noun of action)