Present
Present has four main senses –
- As a noun, it can mean:
- “a gift”, or
- “this point in time”.
- As an adjective, it means “currently existing” or “nearby”.
- As a verb, it is a causative version of the first meaning of the noun, i.e. “to make a gift of”, or “to make present”.
But all these senses go back to a single Latin root, the verb praeesse (pronounced pry-ESS-eh), meaning “to place before; to put at hand”. This in turn is a combination of the prefix prae- (which is the same as English pre-, as in prepare, preview, prequel, etc.) plus the verb esse, “to be”. The core meaning is a referent to what is in front of you, what is given to you.
Prae- goes back to Proto Indo European prai, “beyond”, and is related to English for, before, and of. Esse is derived from Proto Indo European esti, a form of “be”, and is related to English is.
Notably, the noun and adjective forms have the first syllable stressed, and the verb form has the second syllable stressed. Why this should be is a mystery; the implications for the phonosemantics provides a clue.
In both forms, a given point / location is brought to the fore with an infusion of energy, and carried forward with strength along a path which narrows toward a goal. In the “gift” and “present moment” and “existing here” meanings, where the focus is on what is at hand, the primary stress falls on the point source and its launch along the path. In the verbal “cause to be here” meaning, the primary stress is on the path and the narrowing towards a goal.
Thanks to Ali for suggesting this word of the day…
