Where did the word 'Preventative' come from?

Answer 1

The etymology of "preventative" comes from the word "prevent," which means to "guard against the occurrence of something." "Preventative" can function as both an adjective and a noun thanks to its suffix ("-ative"), which derives from French (it's important to note that English had received significant French influence dating back to the Norman Conquest, hence the introduction of new suffixes and prefixes). The word "prevent" can be dated back to the fifteenth century, though its adjective derivation wasn't dated until the seventeenth-century. If you're curious or confused about the history of a word, I highly, highly recommend checking out the Oxford English Dictionary. It provides comprehensive etymologies for all words in the English language, including how a word's meaning changes over time!