praepositus

English

Etymology

From Latin praepositus.

Noun

praepositus (plural praeposituses or praepositi)

1. (historical, archaic) Alternative form of prepositus.

Latin

Etymology

Perfect passive participle of praepōnō, equivalent to prae- (“fore-”) + positus (“placed”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /prae̯ˈpo.si.tus/, [präe̯ˈpɔs̠ɪt̪ʊs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /preˈpo.si.tus/, [preˈpɔːs̬it̪us]

Participle

praepositus (feminine praeposita, neuter praepositum); first/second-declension participle

1. placed in front
2. placed in command

Declension

First/second-declension adjective.

	singular				plural
	masculine	feminine	neuter		masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	praepositus	praeposita	praepositum		praepositī	praepositae	praeposita
genitive	praepositī	praepositae	praepositī		praepositōrum	praepositārum	praepositōrum
dative	praepositō	praepositae	praepositō		praepositīs
accusative	praepositum	praepositam	praepositum		praepositōs	praepositās	praeposita
ablative	praepositō	praepositā	praepositō		praepositīs
vocative	praeposite	praeposita	praepositum		praepositī	praepositae	praeposita

Noun

praepositus m (genitive praepositī); second declension

1. a commander, a leader (one placed in command), particularly:
   1. a prefect
   2. a chief, a head
   3. an overseer
   4. a president
   5. (Medieval Latin) a provost
   6. (Medieval Latin) a reeve

Declension

Second-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	praepositus	praepositī
genitive	praepositī	praepositōrum
dative	praepositō	praepositīs
accusative	praepositum	praepositōs
ablative	praepositō	praepositīs
vocative	praeposite	praepositī

Derived terms

• praepositus villae
• propositus
• praepositio

Descendants

• → Byzantine Greek: πραιπόσιτος (praipósitos)
• Catalan: prebost
  • → Portuguese: preboste
  • → Spanish: preboste
• → English: prepositus
• Old Francoprovençal: proost
  • Franco-Provençal: prouôt
• Old French: provost
  • → English: provost
  • French: prévôt
  • → German: Propst
  • → Italian: prevosto
  • → Middle Dutch: provest
    • Dutch: proost
• Italian: preposito, preposto, proposto
• → Portuguese: prepósito
• → Spanish: prepósito

References

• “praepositus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “praepositus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• praepositus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• “praepositus”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper’s Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “praepositus”, in William Smith et al., editor (1890), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin