Advertisement

Origin and history of preternuptial

preternuptial(adj.)

"beyond what is permitted by the marriage tie or vow," hence, euphemistically, "adulterous," 1833 (Carlyle), from preter- "beyond" + nuptial.

also from 1833

Entries linking to preternuptial

nuptial(adj.)

"of or pertaining to marriage or the wedding ceremony," late 15c., from French nuptial, or directly from Latin nuptialis "pertaining to marriage," from nuptiae "a wedding," from nupta, fem. past participle of nubere "to marry, get married, wed, take as a husband," which is of uncertain origin. Perhaps it is from a PIE root *sneubh- "to marry, wed" (source also of Old Church Slavonic snubiti "to love, woo," Czech snoubiti "to seek in marriage," Slovak zasnubit "to betroth"). De Vaan finds the old theory that the verb nubere is literally "to cover, veil oneself" (as a bride) semantically attractive but unproven (compare Latin obnubere "to veil, cover the head," from nubes "cloud"). Related: Nuptially.

Nuptial number, a number obscurely described at the beginning of the eighth book of the "Republic" of Plato, and said to preside over the generation of men. The number meant may be 864. [Century Dictionary]
preter-

also praeter-, word-forming element meaning "beyond; over, more than in quantity or degree," from Latin praeter (adverb and preposition) "beyond, before, above, more than," properly comparative of prae "before," from PIE root *per- (1) "forward," hence "in front of, before."

    Advertisement

    More to explore

    catechesis
    "oral instruction, catechism," 1753, from Latinized form of Greek katēkhesis "instruction by word of mouth," from katēkhein "to instruct orally," originally "to resound" (with sense evolution via "to sound (something) in someone's ear" to "to teach by word of mouth"). This is fro
    shift
    Middle English shiften, from Old English sciftan, scyftan "arrange, place, put in order" (a sense now obsolete), also "divide, separate, partition; distribute, allot, share" (now obsolete or provincial), from Proto-Germanic *skiftan (source also of Old Norse skipta "to divide, ch
    notion
    late 14c., nocioun, "a general concept, conception," from Latin notionem (nominative notio) "concept, conception, idea, notice," noun of action from past participle stem of noscere "come to know," from PIE root *gno- "to know." Coined by Cicero as a loan-translation of Greek enno
    affinity
    c. 1300, "relation by marriage" (as opposed to consanguinity), from Old French afinite "relationship, kinship; neighborhood, vicinity" (12c., Modern French affinité), from Latin affinitatem (nominative affinitas) "relationship by marriage; neighborhood," noun of state from affini
    sincere
    1530s, "pure, unmixed, unadulterated;" also "free from pretense or falsehood," from French sincere (16c.), from Latin sincerus, of things, "whole, clean, pure, uninjured, unmixed," figuratively "sound, genuine, pure, true, candid, truthful" (unadulterated by deceit), a word of un
    evolution
    1620s, "an opening of what was rolled up," from Latin evolutionem (nominative evolutio) "unrolling (of a book)," noun of action from past participle stem of evolvere "to unroll" (see evolve). Used in medicine, mathematics, and general writing in various senses including "growth t
    Saturn
    Old English Sætern, name of the Roman god, also, in astronomy, the name of the most remote planet (then known); from Latin Saturnus, originally a name of an Italic god of agriculture, possibly from Etruscan. Derivation from Latin serere (past participle satus) "to sow" is said to
    holy
    Old English halig "holy, consecrated, sacred; godly; ecclesiastical," from Proto-Germanic *hailaga- (source also of Old Norse heilagr, Danish hellig, Old Frisian helich "holy," Old Saxon helag, Middle Dutch helich, Old High German heilag, German heilig, Gothic hailags "holy"), fr
    ketchup
    1680s, also spelled catsup which form first appeared in Jonathan Swift's 1730 poem A Panegyrick on the D--n.  This spelling is still in use in U.S., influenced by cat and sup. In some of the earliest uses described as an East Indian sauce made with fruits and spices, with sp
    tattoo
    1680s, "signal calling soldiers or sailors to quarters at night," earlier tap-to (1640s), from Dutch taptoe, from tap "faucet of a cask" (see tap (n.1)) + toe "shut, to" (from Proto-Germanic *to; see to (prep.)). "So called because police formerly visited taverns in the evening t

    Share preternuptial

    Advertisement
    Trending
    Dictionary entries near preternuptial
    Advertisement