Etymology

presence

pres·ence
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Today it means: The fact or condition of being present, or of being within sight or call, or at hand. Full definition →

Old French presence ← Latin praesentia
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The story

  1. Latin · derived frompraesentia“a being present”
  2. Old French · derived frompresence
  3. English todaypresence

Through Old French presence, from Latin praesentia (“a being present”), from praesentem. Displaced native Old English andweardnes.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.