Precursor — From Latin to English | etymologist.ai
precursor
/pɹɪˈkɜːɹ.sɔːɹ/·noun·1426·Established
Origin
'Precursor' is Latin for 'one who runs ahead' — used in early Christianity as a title for John the Baptist.
Definition
A person or thing that comes before another of the same kind; a forerunner; in chemistry, a substance from which another is formed.
The Full Story
Latin15th centurywell-attested
From Latin 'praecursor' (forerunner, advance guard), from 'praecurrere' (to run before), composed of 'prae-' (before, ahead) + 'currere' (to run), from PIE *kers- (to run). A precursor literally runs ahead of what follows — a scout running before an army, a herald running before a king. In early Christian Latin, 'Praecursor' became a title for John the Baptist, who 'ran before' Christ to prepare the way
Did you know?
Your computer cursor — the blinking line or arrow on screen — is a Latin word meaning 'runner.' The cursor runs across the screen, indicating where youare. This is the sameroot as 'precursor': a precursor is a pre-runner, something that runs ahead. Medieval scribes used 'cursor' for a pointer
through Latin 'currere': 'current' (running water or running time), 'course' (a running, a path), 'occur' (to run toward, then to happen), 'concur' (to run together, to agree), 'incur' (to run into), 'recur' (to run back), 'excursion' (a running out), 'discourse' (a running about, then conversation), 'cursor' (the runner, now the
entered English in the early 16th century and was initially used in its theological sense before generalizing to mean any forerunner or harbinger. Key roots: prae- (Latin: "before, ahead"), currere (Latin: "to run").