'Prudence' and 'providence' arethe same word — both Latin for 'forward-seeing.' Wisdom as foresight.
Definition
The quality of acting with or showing care and thought for the future.
The Full Story
Latin14th centurywell-attested
From Old French prudence, from Latin prūdentia (foresight, practical wisdom, good judgment), a phonologically contracted form of prōvidentia (foresight — literally a seeing-forward), from prōvidēns, the present participle of prōvidēre (to foresee, to look ahead, to provide for), composed of prō- (before, forward, in front of — PIE *per- in its forward-pointing sense) + vidēre (to see), from PIE *weyd- (to see, to know). The contraction prōvidentia → prūdentia happened in Vulgar Latin, compressing the vowels while preserving the meaning. The PIE root *weyd- produced