Online Etymology Dictionary

predecease (v.): "to die before," 1590s, from pre- + decease (v.). Related: Predeceased; predeceasing.
predecessor (n.): late 14c., "one who has held an office or position before the present holder," from Old French predecesseor "forebear" and directly from Late Latin praedecessorem (nominative praedecessor), from Latin prae "before" (see pre-) + decessor "retiring official," from decess-, past participle stem of decedere "go away," also "die" (see decease (n.)). Meaning "ancestor, forefather" is recorded from c.1400.
predestination (n.): mid-14c., "the action of God in foreordaining certain of mankind through grace to salvation or eternal life," from Old French predestinacion and directly from Church Latin praedestinationem (nominative praedestinatio) "a determining beforehand," noun of action from past participle stem of praedestinare "set before as a goal; appoint or determine beforehand," from Latin prae- "before" (see pre-) + destinare "appoint, determine" (see destiny). First used in theological sense by Augustine; given prominence by Calvin.
predestine (v.): late 14c., "to foreordain," from Old French prédestiner (12c.) "predestine, ordain" (of God) and directly from Latin praedestinare "determine beforehand" (see predestination). Related: Predestined; predestining; predestinate.
predetermination (n.): 1630s; see predetermine + -ation.
predetermine (v.): 1620s, originally theological, from pre- + determine or else from Late Latin praedeterminare (Augustine). Related: Predetermined; predetermining; predeterminate.
predicament (n.): early 15c., "category, class; one of Aristotle's 10 categories," from Medieval Latin predicamentum, from Late Latin praedicamentum "quality, category, something predicted, that which is asserted," from Latin praedicatus, past participle of praedicare (see predicate). Praedicamentum is a loan-translation of Greek kategoria, Aristotle's word. The meaning "unpleasant situation" is first recorded 1580s.
predicate (n.): mid-15c., a term in logic, from Middle French predicat and directly from Medieval Latin predicatum, from Latin praedicatum "that which is said of the subject," noun use of neuter past participle of praedicare "assert, proclaim, declare publicly," from prae- "forth, before" (see pre-) + dicare "proclaim," from stem of dicere "to speak, to say" (see diction). Grammatical sense is from 1630s. Related: Predicative; predicator; predicatory.
predicate (adj.): 1887, from Latin praedicatus, past participle of praedicare "proclaim, announce" (see predicate (n.)).
predicate (v.): 1550s, back formation from predication, or else from Latin praedicatus, past participle of praedicare "proclaim, announce" (see predicate (n.)). Related: Predicated; predicating. Phrase predicated on "founded on, based on," is American English, first recorded 1766.
predication (n.): early 14c., from Old French predicacion (12c.) and directly from Medieval Latin predicationem, from Latin praedicationem (nominative praedicatio) "a foretelling, prediction," noun of action from past participle stem of praedicare (see predicate (n.)).
predict (v.): 1620s (implied in predicted), "foretell, prophesy," a back formation from prediction or else from Latin praedicatus, past participle of praedicere "foretell, advise, give notice," from prae "before" (see pre-) + dicere "to say" (see diction). Related: Predicted; predicting.
predictability (n.): 1855, from predictable + -ity.
predictable (adj.): 1820, from predict + -able. Related: Predictably, which in the sense "as could have been predicted" is attested from 1914.
prediction (n.): 1560s, from Middle French prédiction and directly from Medieval Latin predictionem (nominative predictio), from Latin praedictio "a foretelling," noun of action from past participle stem of praedicere (see predict).
predictive (adj.): 1650s, from Late Latin praedictivus, from praedict-, past participle stem of praedicere (see predict).
predictor (n.): 1650s, from Medieval Latin praedictor, agent noun from praedicere (see predict). Statistical sense is from 1950.
predilection (n.): 1742, from French prédilection (16c.), noun of action from Medieval Latin praedilectus, past participle of prediligere "prefer before others," from Latin prae- "before" (see pre-) + diligere "choose, love" (see diligent).
predispose (v.): 1640s, "to put into a certain frame of mind," perhaps a back-formation from predisposition. Related: Predisposed; predisposing.
predisposition (n.): 1620s, from pre- + disposition.
prednisone (n.): 1955, probably from elements of pregnadiene (from pregnane, name of the compound from which pregnancy hormones were derived, from the Latin stem of pregnancy) + ending from cortisone.
predominance (n.): 1590s; see predominant + -ance.
predominant (adj.): 1570s, from Middle French prédominant (14c.), from Medieval Latin *praedominantem (nominative praedominans), present participle of *praedominare, from Latin prae- "before" (see pre-) + dominari "to rule" (see dominate). Related: Predominantly.
predominate (v.): 1590s, from Medieval Latin predominatus, past participle of predominare (see predominant). Related: Predominated; predominating; predominatingly.
preemie (n.): "baby born prematurely," 1927, premy, American English shortening of premature + -y (2). Spelling with -ie attested from 1949.
preen (v.): "to trim, to dress up," late 14c., perhaps a variation of Middle English proynen, proinen "trim the feather with the beak" (see prune (v.)); or perhaps from Old French poroindre "anoint before," and Old French proignier "round off, prune." Middle English prene (from Old English preon, a general Germanic word) meant "to pin," and probably influenced the form of this word. Watkins, however, connects it with Latin unguere "to smear, anoint."

Because of the popularity of falconry, bird activities formerly were more closely observed and words for them were more precise in English than today.
Youre hawke proynith and not pikith and she prenyth not bot whan she begynnyth at hir leggys, and fetcheth moystour like oyle at hir taill. ["Book of St. Albans," 1486]
prefab (adj.): 1937, short for prefabricated (see prefabricate). As a noun, "prefabricated housing," from 1942.
prefabricate (v.): 1919 (implied in prefabricated), from pre- + fabricate (v.). Related: Prefabricating.
preface (n.): late 14c., from Old French preface "opening part of sung devotions" (14c.) and directly from Medieval Latin prefatia, from Latin praefationem (nominative praefatio) "fore-speaking, introduction," in Medieval Latin "prologue," noun of action from past participle stem of praefari "to say beforehand," from prae "before" (see pre-) + fari "speak" (see fame (n.)).
preface (v.): 1610s, from preface (n.). Related: Prefaced; prefacing.
prefatory (adj.): 1670s, from Latin praefat-, past participle stem of praefari (see preface (n.)) + -ory.
prefect (n.): mid-14c., "civil or military official," from Old French prefect (12c., Modern French préfet) and directly from Latin praefectus "public overseer, superintendent, director," noun use of past participle of praeficere "to put in front, to set over, put in authority," from prae "in front, before" (see pre-) + root of facere (past participle factus) "to perform" (see factitious). Spelling restored from Middle English prefet. Meaning "administrative head of the Paris police" is from 1800; meaning "senior pupil designated to keep order in an English school" is from 1864. Related: Prefectorial.
prefectural (adj.): 1807, from prefecture + -al (1).
prefecture (n.): "administrative district of a prefect," mid-15c., from Middle French préfecture and directly from Latin praefectura, or assembled locally from prefect + -ure.
prefer (v.): late 14c., "to put forward or advance in rank or fortune, to promote," from Old French preferer (14c.) and directly from Latin praeferre "place or set before, carry in front," from prae "before" (see pre-) + ferre "to carry, to place" (see infer). Meaning "to esteem (something) more than others" also is recorded from late 14c. Original sense in English is preserved in preferment.
preferable (adj.): 1640s, from or on model of French préférable, from préfér (see prefer). OED notes preferrable is better English but has not prevailed. Related: Preferably.
preference (n.): mid-15c., "advancement in position or status;" 1650s as "act of prefering," from Middle French preference (14c., Modern French préférence), from Medieval Latin preferentia, from past participle stem of Latin praeferrere (see prefer). Sense of "that which one prefers" is from 1852.
preferential (adj.): 1805, from Medieval Latin preferentia, from Latin praeferre (see prefer) + -al (1).
preferment (n.): mid-15c., from prefer + -ment.
prefiguration (n.): late 14c., from Late Latin praefigurationem (nominative praefiguratio), noun of action from past participle stem of praefigurare "to prefigure" (see prefigure).
prefigure (v.): early 15c., from Late Latin praefigurare "to prefigure," from Latin prae "before" (see pre-) + figurare "to form, shape," from figura "a shape, form, figure" (see figure (n.)). Related: Prefigured; prefiguring.
prefix (n.): 1640s, from Latin praefixum, noun use of neuter past participle of praefigere "fix in front, fasten on before," from prae "before" (see pre-) + root of figere "to fasten, fix" (see fix (v.)).
prefix (v.): early 15c., "appoint beforehand," from Middle French prefixer, from pre- (see pre-) + fixer (see fix (v.)). Meaning "to place at the beginning" is from 1530s; of words or parts of words from c.1600. Related: Prefixed; prefixing.
preflight (adj.): also pre-flight, 1918 with reference to aviation, from pre- + flight (n.).
preformed (adj.): c.1600, from Latin praeformare or else from pre- + formed (see form (v.)). Of plastic and synthetic products, from 1918.
preggers (adj.): 1942, from pregnant (adj.1).
preggo (adj.): Australian slang, 1951, from pregnant (adj.1).
preglacial (adj.): also pre-glacial, 1853, from pre- + glacial.
pregnable (adj.): 1530s, alteration of Middle English preignable, earlier prenable (early 15c.), from Old French prenable "assailable, vulnerable," from stem of prendre "to take, grasp, seize," from Latin prehendere "to take hold of, to seize" (see prehensile).
pregnancy (n.): 1520s (originally figurative), from pregnant (adj.1) + -cy. Literal use attested from 1590s.