'Predict' is 'say beforehand' — from Latin 'dicere' (to say), whose PIE root meant 'to point out.'
To declare or indicate in advance; to foretell what will happen on the basis of observation, experience, or reasoning.
From Latin 'praedictus,' past participle of 'praedicere' (to foretell, to say beforehand), composed of 'prae-' (before) and 'dicere' (to say, to speak). The Latin 'dicere' descends from PIE *deyk- (to show, to point out), which also produced 'dictate,' 'diction,' 'verdict,' 'indicate,' 'judge' (via Old French from Latin 'judex,' literally 'one who points out the law'), and Greek 'deiknynai' (to show). To predict is literally 'to say before' — to speak an event before it occurs
Latin 'dicere' (to say) originally meant 'to point out' or 'to show,' from PIE *deyk-. This is why a judge 'indicates' (points to) the law, a 'verdict' is 'truly spoken,' and to 'predict' is to 'point out beforehand.' The shift from pointing to speaking reflects how early legal and religious