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pre·pare (prĭ-pâr)
Share:
v. pre·pared, pre·par·ing, pre·pares
v.tr.
1. To make ready beforehand for a specific purpose, as for an event or occasion: The teacher prepared the students for the exams.
2. To put together or make by combining various elements or ingredients; manufacture or compound: prepared a meal; prepared the lecture.
3. To fit out; equip: prepared the ship for an arctic expedition.
4. Music To lead up to and soften (a dissonance or its impact) by means of preparation.
v.intr.
To make things or oneself ready: I must prepare for my trip.
Idiom:
be prepared
To be willing (to do something): I am not prepared to defend him when I know he was wrong.

[Middle English preparen, from Old French preparer, from Latin praeparāre : prae-, pre- + parāre, prepare, equip; see perə-1 in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

pre·pared·ly (-pârĭd-lē) adv.
pre·parer n.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.