Prediction
/prɪˈdɪk.ʃən/noun
A statement about what will happen in the future.
Did you know?Its root is Latin praedicere, meaning “to say beforehand,” and that same praedic- family also gave English words tied to public proclamation and authoritative speech, not fortune-telling.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*deik-
“to show, point out”
Latin
Latin
dicere
“to say, speak, declare”
Latin
Latin
praedicere
“to say beforehand, foretell, predict”
Old French
Old French
prediccion
“a foretelling; prophecy”
Middle English
English
prediccioun
“a foretelling; prior statement”
Modern English
English
prediction
“a statement about what will happen in the future”
Explore more surprising origins