Preach
/priːtʃ/noun
To deliver a religious sermon or earnestly advocate a belief or course of action.
Did you know?Preach comes through Old French from Latin praedicare, meaning “to proclaim publicly,” and it was originally about announcing something aloud, not just delivering a church sermon.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*deik-
“to show, point out”
Latin
Latin
praedicare
“to proclaim publicly, announce, praise”
Old French
Old French
prechier
“to preach, proclaim”
Middle English
English
prechen
“to preach, speak formally in religious instruction”
Modern English
English
preach
“to deliver a sermon or strongly urge a belief or action”