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Origin and history of provide

provide(v.)

early 15c., providen, "make provision for the future; arrange, plan; take care, relieve of needs, supply the needs of," from Latin providere "look ahead, prepare, supply, act with foresight," from pro "ahead" (from PIE root *per- (1) "forward") + videre "to see" (from PIE root *weid- "to see"). Related: Provided; providing; providance ("act or condition of providing," by 1740). Earlier in same sense was its doublet purvey, which is from the same Latin verb, deformed in Old French (pourvoir).

No memory of having starred
Atones for later disregard,
Or keeps the end from being hard.
Better to go down dignified
With boughten friendship at your side
Than none at all. Provide, provide!
[Robert Frost, from "Provide, Provide"]

also from early 15c.

Entries linking to provide

provided(conj.)

"with or on condition that; this (or it) being understood, conceded, or established," early 15c., conjunction use of past participle of provide. As an adjective, "destined" (early 15c.); "prepared, ready" (1570s); "furnished" (1878).

purvey(v.)

c. 1300, purveien, "make previous arrangements," also "think beforehand, consider" (senses now obsolete); early 14c. as "prepare (something), make (something) ready;" late 14c. as "provide, supply (a necessity), furnish (what is needed)," from Anglo-French porveire, purveire and directly from Old French porveoir "to provide, prepare, arrange" (Modern French pourvoir), from Latin providere "look ahead, prepare, supply, act with foresight," from pro "ahead" (see pro-) + videre "to see" (from PIE root *weid- "to see"). Compare provide, which now usually replaces it. Related: Purveyed; purveying.

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Trends of provide

adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.

More to explore

improvisation
"act of improvising musically," 1786, from French improvisation, from improviser "compose or say extemporaneously" (17c.), from Italian improvisare "to sing or speak extempore," from Latin improviso "unforeseen; not studied or prepared beforehand," ablative of improvisus "not for
improvise
1808, from Italian improvisare "to sing or speak extempore," from Latin improviso "unforeseen; not studied or prepared beforehand," ablative of improvisus "not foreseen, unexpected," from assimilated form of in- "not, opposite of" (see in- (1)) + provisus "foreseen," also "provid
provision
late 14c., provisioun, "foresight, prudence, care;" also "a providing beforehand, action of arranging in advance" (at first often in reference to ecclesiastical appointments made before the position was vacant), from Old French provision "precaution, care" (early 14c.), from Lati
furnish
mid-15c., "fit out, equip, to provision" (a castle, ship, person); "provide (soldiers)," from Old French furniss-/forniss...-, present participle stem of furnir/fornir "accomplish, carry out; equip, fit out; provide" (12c.), from Vulgar Latin *fornire...fromire, from West Germanic *frumjan "forward movement, advancement" (source also of Old High German frumjan "to do, execute, provide...General meaning "to provide" (something) is from 1520s; specifically "provide furniture for a room or house" from 1640s....
found
It comes from the expression to find one's self "to provide for one's self."..."When a laborer engages to provide himself with victuals, he is said to find himself, or to receive day wages" [Bartlett,...
store
mid-13c., storen, "to supply or stock" (a town, castle, etc.) with supplies, including food, from Old French estorer "provide...repair; furnish, equip, provision," from Latin instaurare "to set up, establish; renew, restore," in Medieval Latin also "to provide...
garnish
for defense; arm (oneself) for battle; prepare to defend," from Old French garniss-, present-participle stem of garnir "provide..., furnish; fortify, reinforce" (11c.), from Frankish *warnjan, from Proto-Germanic *warnon "be cautious, guard, provide for...
render
late 14c., rendren, rendre, "repeat, say again, recite; translate," from Old French rendre "give back, present, yield" (10c.) and Medieval Latin rendere, from Vulgar Latin *rendere, a variant of Latin reddere "give back, return, restore," from red- "back" (see re-) + combining fo
cater
c. 1600, "provide food for," from Middle English catour (n.) "buyer of provisions" (c. 1400; late 13c. as a surname), a shortening of Anglo-French achatour "buyer" (Old North French acatour, Old French achatour, 13c., Modern French acheteur), from Old French achater "to buy,
trace
late 14c., "follow (a course); draw a line, make an outline of something," also figurative; "ponder, investigate," from Old French tracier "look for, follow, pursue" (12c., Modern French tracer), from Vulgar Latin *tractiare "delineate, score, trace" (source also of Spanish traza

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