prepay

C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes

US /priˈpeɪ/ UK /priːˈpeɪ/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

verb
to pay for something in advance

You can prepay the postage to save time at the counter.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to pay for something in... prefund

Word family

Derived forms prepaymentprepaidprepayable

Related forms pay payment payable

Etymology

From the prefix pre- ('before, in advance', from Latin prae-) + pay (from Old French paier, from Latin pacare 'to appease, satisfy', from pax 'peace').

prae- Latin pacare Latin pax Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# prepay

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /priˈpeɪ/
**IPA (UK):** /priːˈpeɪ/

## Meanings
1. to pay for something in advance

## Examples
- You can prepay the postage to save time at the counter.

## Synonyms
- prefund

## Derived Forms
- prepayment
- prepaid
- prepayable

## Related Forms
- pay
- payment
- payable

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: prae-
- Root: pacare
- Root: pax

## Etymology
From the prefix pre- ('before, in advance', from Latin prae-) + pay (from Old French paier, from Latin pacare 'to appease, satisfy', from pax 'peace').

## AI Etymology
Prepay is from the prefix pre- ('before, in advance', from Latin prae-) + pay (from Old French paier, from Latin pacare 'to appease, satisfy', from pax 'peace'). Important recorded forms include prae- (Latin), pacare (Latin), and pax (Latin). Morphologically, the word preserves a built structure whose named elements carry the historical sense into English. The modern sense remains close to that composition, with the parts narrowing into a single lexical item. In current use it covers to pay for something in advance. The wider family includes derived forms such as prepayment, prepaid, and prepayable and related words such as pay, payment, and payable.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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