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Origin and history of premeditate

premeditate(v.)

"think about and contrive beforehand," 1540s, from pre- + meditate, or a back formation from premeditation, or else from Latin praemeditatus, past participle of praemeditari "to consider beforehand," from prae "before" (see pre-) + meditari "to consider," from a frequentative form of PIE root *med- "take appropriate measures." Related: Premeditated; premeditating.

also from 1540s

Entries linking to premeditate

meditate(v.)

1580s, "to ponder, think abstractly, engage in mental contemplation" (intransitive), probably a back-formation from meditation, or else from Latin meditatus, past participle of meditari "to meditate, think over, reflect, consider," frequentative form of PIE root *med- "take appropriate measures." From 1590s as "to plan in the mind," also "to employ the mind in thought or contemplation," especially in a religious way. Related: Meditated; meditating.

premeditation(n.)

"previous deliberation, prior consideration, forethought," early 15c., premeditacioun, from Old French premeditacion and directly from Latin praemeditationem (nominative praemeditatio) "consideration beforehand," noun of action from past-participle stem of praemeditari "to consider beforehand," from prae "before" (see pre-) + meditari "to consider," from a frequentative form of PIE root *med- "take appropriate measures."

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reflect
late 14c., reflecten, "turn or bend (something) back, reverse;" early 15c., "to divert, to turn (something) aside, deflect," from Old French reflecter (14c.), from Latin reflectere "to bend back, bend backwards, turn away," from re- "back" (see re-) + flectere "to bend" (see flex
muse
"to reflect, ponder, meditate; to be absorbed in thought," mid-14c., from Old French muser (12c.) "to ponder, dream, wonder; loiter, waste time," which is of uncertain origin; the explanation in Diez and Skeat is literally "to stand with one's nose in the air" (or, possibly, "to
ponder
mid-14c., ponderen, "to estimate the worth of, to appraise" (a sense now obsolete), from Old French ponderer "to weigh, poise" (14c., Modern French pondérer) and directly from Latin ponderare "ponder, consider, reflect," literally "to weigh," from pondus (genitive ponderis) "weig
debate
late 14c., "to quarrel, dispute," also "to combat, fight, make war" (senses now archaic), also "discuss, deliberate upon the pros and cons of," from Old French debatre (13c., Modern French débattre), originally "to fight," from de- "down, completely" (see de-) + batre "to beat,"
contemplate
1590s, "reflect upon, ponder, study, view mentally, meditate," from Latin contemplatus, past participle of contemplari "to gaze attentively, observe; consider, contemplate," originally "to mark out a space for observation" (as an augur does), from assimilated form of com-, here p
deliberate
early 15c., "done with careful consideration," from Latin deliberatus "resolved upon, determined," past participle of deliberare "consider carefully, consult," literally "weigh well," from de, here probably "entirely" (see de-) + -liberare, altered (probably by influence of liber
mull
"ponder, turn over in one's mind," 1873, perhaps from a figurative use of mull (v.) "grind to powder" (which survived into 19c. in dialect), from Middle English mullyn, mollen "grind to powder, soften by pulverizing," also "to fondle or pet" (late 14c.), from Old French moillier
overturn
early 13c., of a wheel, "to rotate, roll over," from over- + turn (v.). Attested from c. 1300 in general transitive sense "to throw over violently;" figurative meaning "to ruin, destroy" is from late 14c. Of judicial decisions, "to reverse," it is attested from 1826. Related: Ove
speculate
1590s, "view mentally, contemplate" (transitive), back-formation from speculation. Also formerly "view as from a watchtower" (1610s). The intransitive sense of "pursue truth by conjecture or thinking" is from 1670s. The meaning "invest money upon risk for the sake of profit" is f
moot
early 12c., shortened from Old English gemot "meeting, formal assembly" (especially of freemen, to discuss community affairs or mete justice), "society, assembly, council," from Proto-Germanic *ga-motan (compare Old Low Frankish muot "encounter," Middle Dutch moet, Middle High Ge

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