Prepare

How to spell prepare

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce prepare

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does prepare mean?

1. verbTo make something or someone ready in advance for a particular purpose or event.

Prepare in a sentence

• The chef will prepare the sauce before the guests arrive.

• Students should prepare thoroughly for the final exam.

Where does prepare come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This verb comes from the Latin praeparare, which combined the prefix prae, meaning 'before' or 'in advance', with the verb parare, meaning 'to make ready' or 'to put in order'. The literal sense was therefore 'to make ready beforehand', a meaning that has stayed remarkably stable across the centuries. English took it up in the late 1400s, partly through Old French preparer and partly directly from the Latin, at a time when many learned Latin verbs were being absorbed into formal English writing. The parare root is surprisingly productive: it also lies behind 'repair', 'apparatus', and 'separate', as well as the everyday 'pare' meaning to trim or cut down. Knowing that the word is built from prae plus parare helps fix the spelling, since the opening is simply 'pre' and the body keeps the clean 'pare' ending without any doubled letters.

How the word is built

• pre- (before)
• -pare (from Latin parare: to make ready)