Presented

How to spell presented

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce presented

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does presented mean?

1. verbPast tense of present: formally showed, gave, or put something forward for others to consider.

Presented in a sentence

• The consultant presented her findings to the board on Monday.

• He presented his passport at the check-in desk without delay.

Where does presented come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This is the past tense of the verb 'present', which traces back to the Latin verb praesentare, meaning 'to place before someone' or 'to show'. That verb was built on the adjective praesens, the present participle of praeesse, formed from prae meaning 'before' and esse meaning 'to be'; literally it described something 'being right in front of you'. English took the word through Old French presenter during the 1300s, when it carried senses of offering a gift, introducing a person, and putting something forward for attention. The same root explains why 'present' covers a startling range of modern meanings: a gift you offer, the moment that is here now, and the act of formally showing something. Because the word is spelled almost exactly as it sounds, the only thing to watch is the single 't' before the regular '-ed' ending.

How the word is built

• pre- (before, from Latin prae-)
• -sent- (from esse, 'to be', via praesens 'being at hand')
• -ed (past tense suffix)