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Origin and history of prepense

prepense(adj.)

"planned beforehand, premeditated," 1702, short for prepensed, prepenst (mid-15c.), past-participle adjective from obsolete verb prepense "consider beforehand," originally purpense, from Old French pourpenser "to plan, meditate" (11c.), from pro "before" (see pro-) + penser "to think," from Latin pensare "weigh, consider," frequentative of pendere "to hang, cause to hang; weigh; pay" (from PIE root *(s)pen- "to draw, stretch, spin").

Usually in the legal phrase malice prepense (with French word order) "wrong or injury purposefully done or planned in advance" (see malice). This is attested from mid-15c. as malice prepensed. Related: Prepensive.

also from 1702

Entries linking to prepense

malice(n.)

c. 1300, "desire to hurt another, propensity to inflict injury or suffering, active ill-will," from Old French malice "ill will, spite, sinfulness, wickedness" (12c.), from Latin malitia "badness, ill will, spite," from malus "bad, unpleasant" (see mal-). In legal use, "a design or intention of doing mischief to another without justification or excuse" (1540s).

Actual malice, express malice, malice in fact, malice in which the intention includes a contemplation of some injury to be done.— Constructive malice, implied malice, imputed malice, malice in law, that which, irrespective of actual intent to injure, is attributed by the law to an injurious act intentionally done, without proper motive, as distinguished from actual malice, either proved or presumed. Malice aforethought, or malice prepense, actual malice particularly in case of homicide. [Century Dictionary]
aforethought(adj.)

"premeditated," a legal word, 1580s, from afore + past tense of think. Apparently an English loan-translation of the Old French legalese word prepense (see prepense) in the phrase malice prepense "malice aforethought" (Coke).

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