prescience

noun

pre·​science ˈpre-sh(ē-)ən(t)s 

ˈprē-,

-s(ē-)ən(t)s

: foreknowledge of events:

a

: divine omniscience

b

: human anticipation of the course of events : foresight

prescient

ˈpre-sh(ē-)ənt 

ˈprē-

-s(ē-)ənt

adjective

presciently adverb

Did you know?

If you know the origin of science you already know half the story of prescience. Science comes from the Latin verb sciō, scīre, "to know," also source of such words as conscience, conscious, and omniscience. Prescience has as its ancestor a word that attached prae-, a predecessor of pre-, to this root to make praescire, meaning "to know beforehand."

Synonyms

• foreknowledge
• foresight

Examples of prescience in a Sentence

He predicted their response with amazing prescience.

Her prescience as an investor is impressive.

Recent Examples on the Web

What Houellebecq does get credit for is prescience. —Judith Shulevitz, The Atlantic, 24 Oct. 2024

Unusual prescience on her part or an authorial intrusion from the vantage of our less orderly world? —Laura Miller, The New Yorker, 16 Sep. 2024

With panache but also prescience, the German political theorist Karl Marx wrote not its death notice but its birth announcement. —Robert Zaretsky, Foreign Affairs, 30 Mar. 2021

In Europe, the left-leaning Cannes Film Festival awarded Coppola the Palme d’Or as if congratulating his prescience and left-wing skepticism. —Armond White, National Review, 16 Aug. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Late Latin praescientia, from Latin praescient-, praesciens, present participle of praescire to know beforehand, from prae- + scire to know — more at science

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

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Kids Definition

prescience

noun

pre·​science ˈprēsh(-ē)-ən(t)s 

ˈpresh-

: foresight sense 1