*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of prey

From Middle English preye, prei, preyȝe, borrowed from Anglo-Norman and Old French preie, one of the variants of proie, from Latin praeda. Compare predator. Doublet of prede.

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
noun

That which is or may be seized by animals to be devoured. · A person or thing given up as a victim. · A living thing, usually an animal, that is eaten by another living thing. · Anything, such as goods, etc., taken or got by violence; something taken by force from an enemy in war.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English preye, prei, preyȝe, borrowed from Anglo-Norman and Old French preie, one of the variants of proie, from Latin praeda. Compare predator. Doublet of prede.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Root classification mention*gʰed-ine-pro
  • Inherited-form mentionpreyeenm
  • Derivation mentionpreiefro
  • Derivation mentionpraedala
  • Doublet mentionpredeen

This page abbreviates 2 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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      },
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    },
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      "expansion": "Middle English preye"
    },
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        "2": "xno",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Anglo-Norman"
    },
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      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fro",
        "3": "preie"
      },
      "expansion": "Old French preie"
    },
    {
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      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "praeda"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin praeda"
    },
    {
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      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "prede"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of prede"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "preye",
      "preye#Middle_English"
    ],
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      "prei",
      "prei#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "preyȝe",
      "preyȝe#Middle_English"
    ],
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      "preie",
      "preie#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "proie",
      "proie#Old_French"
    ],
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      "praeda",
      "praeda#Latin"
    ],
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      "predator",
      "predator#English"
    ],
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      "prede",
      "prede#English"
    ]
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  "references": [],
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  "lexical": [
    {
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        "That which is or may be seized by animals to be devoured.",
        "A person or thing given up as a victim.",
        "A living thing, usually an animal, that is eaten by another living thing.",
        "Anything, such as goods, etc., taken or got by violence; something taken by force from an enemy in war."
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}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
verb

To act as a predator.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English praien, prayen, preyen, partly from the noun and partly from Old French praer, preer, earlier preder, from Late Latin praedō, collateral form of Latin praedor, from praeda (“plunder, booty, loot”) + -ō (verbal suffix). Doublet of prede.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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      "expansion": "Old French praer"
    },
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    },
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        "2": "prede"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of prede"
    }
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    ],
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      "preyen",
      "preyen#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "the noun",
      "#Etymology 1"
    ],
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      "praer#Old_French"
    ],
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      "preer",
      "preer#Old_French"
    ],
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      "preder",
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    ],
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      "praedō",
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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for prey →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-cHJleQ