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present

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See also: présent

English

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

English Wikipedia has an article on:
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From Middle English present, from Old French present, from Latin praesent-, praesens, present participle of praeesse (“to be present”), from Latin prae- (“pre-”) + esse (“to be”).

Adjective

present (comparative more present, superlative most present)

  1. Relating to now, for the time being; current.
    The barbaric practice continues to the present day.
    The present manager has been here longer than the last one.
    up to the present day
  2. Located in the immediate vicinity.
    Only half of all present members were present at the meeting.
    Is there a doctor present?
    Several people were present when the event took place.
    Being the leader, Jason is always present at class.
  3. (obsolete) Having an immediate effect (of a medicine, poison etc.); fast-acting. [16th–18th c.]
    • 1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], “Alteratiues and Corials, corroborating, reſoluing the reliques, and mending the Temperament”, in The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC, partition 2, section 5, member 1, subsection 5:
      Amongſt this number of Cordials and Alteratiues, J doe not find a more preſent remedy, then a cup of wine, or ſtrong drinke, and if it be ſoberly and opportunely vſed.
  4. (obsolete) Not delayed; immediate; instant.
  5. (dated) Ready; quick in emergency.
    a present wit
  6. (obsolete) Favorably attentive; propitious.
  8. Relating to something a person is referring to in the very context, with a deictic use similar to the demonstrative adjective this.
    Near-synonyms: this (determiner), this (pronoun), current
    in the present study; the present article; the present results
  9. Attentive; alert; focused.
    Sorry, I was distracted just now, I'll try to be more present from now on.
  10. (politics) Neither for or against (used in voting to express abstention)
Synonyms
Antonyms
Derived terms
Derived terms (grammar)
Translations

Noun

present (plural presents)

  1. The current moment or period of time.
  2. (grammar) The present tense.
Synonyms
Derived terms
Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English presenten, from Old French presenter, from Latin praesentāre (“to show”), from praesent-, praesens, present participle of praeesse (“be in front of”).

Noun

present (plural presents)

  2. A gift, especially one given for birthdays, Christmas, anniversaries, graduations, weddings, or any other special occasions.
    wedding present;   birthday present
    Oh! Thank you for the presents! How considerate of you!
    Only his friends attended his birthday party. They're all broke, so he got no present.
    • 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter VII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
      “A very welcome, kind, useful present, that means to the parish. By the way, Hopkins, let this go no further. We don't want the tale running round that a rich person has arrived. Churchill, my dear fellow, we have such greedy sharks, and wolves in lamb's clothing. […]”
  3. (military) The position of a soldier in presenting arms.
    The platoon stands at present.
    He was at present near the headquarters gates.
  4. (colloquial, euphemistic, endearing) poo; feces
    I think our toddler's just left us a little present in his diaper...
    She has to deal with her cats' presents in the litterboxes on a daily basis, and she doesn't mind one bit.
Derived terms
Descendants
  • → Japanese: プレゼント (purezento)
Translations

Verb

present (third-person singular simple present presents, present participle presenting, simple past and past participle presented)

  1. To bring (someone) into the presence of (a person); to introduce formally. [from 14th c.]
    to present an envoy to the king
  2. (transitive) To nominate (a member of the clergy) for an ecclesiastical benefice; to offer to the bishop or ordinary as a candidate for institution. [from 14th c.]
  3. (transitive) To offer (a problem, complaint) to a court or other authority for consideration. [from 14th c.]
  4. (transitive, now rare) To charge (a person) with a crime or accusation; to bring before court. [from 14th c.]
    • 1971, Sir Keith Vivian Thomas, “3. The Impact of the Reformation”, in Religion and the Decline of Magic: Studies in popular beliefs in sixteenth and seventeenth century England‎, 1st edition, London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson; Orion Publishing Group, Limited; Folio Society, published 1971, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, pages 74–75:
      In the diocese of Gloucester in 1548 two inhabitants of Slimbridge were presented for saying that holy oil was ‘of no virtue but meet to grease sheep’.
  5. (reflexive) To come forward, appear in a particular place or before a particular person, especially formally. [from 14th c.]
  6. (transitive) To put (something) forward in order for it to be seen; to show, exhibit. [from 14th c.]
  7. (transitive) To make clear to one's mind or intelligence; to put forward for consideration. [from 14th c.]
    • 1927, Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle, “II. The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier”, in The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes‎, published 1927, →OCLC, page 49:
      I do begin to realize that the matter must be presented in such a way as may interest the reader.
    • 2012 January, Steven Sloman, “The Battle Between Intuition and Deliberation”, in American Scientist‎, volume 100, number 1, archived from the original on 8 January 2012, page 74:
      Libertarian paternalism is the view that, because the way options are presented to citizens affects what they choose, society should present options in a way that “nudges” our intuitive selves to make choices that are more consistent with what our more deliberative selves would have chosen if they were in control.
  8. (transitive) To put on, stage (a play etc.). [from 16th c.]
    The theater is proud to present the Fearless Fliers.
  9. (transitive, military) To point (a firearm) at something, to hold (a weapon) in a position ready to fire. [from 16th c.]
  10. (reflexive) To offer oneself for mental consideration; to occur to the mind. [from 16th c.]
    Well, one idea does present itself.
  11. (intransitive, medicine) To come to the attention of medical staff, especially with a specific symptom. [from 19th c.]
    The patient presented with insomnia.
    Symptoms typically present in early childhood.
  12. (intransitive, medicine) To appear (in a specific way) for delivery (of a fetus); to appear first at the mouth of the uterus during childbirth. [from 18th c.]
  13. (intransitive, with "as") To appear or represent oneself (as having a certain gender).
    At that time, Elbe was presenting as a man.
    • August 24 2021, Shon Faye, “‘I feel like it’s quite shaky acceptance’: trans kids and the fight for inclusion”, in The Guardian:
      In May 2019, a case was referred to the high court in which social workers for Lancashire county council had sought orders against the parents of two trans children to take the children into care. Social services were alerted when H, the couple’s three-year-old foster child, born male, had gone into school presenting as a girl.
  14. (transitive) To act as presenter on (a radio, television programme etc.). [from 20th c.]
    Anne Robinson presents "The Weakest Link".
  15. (transitive) To give a gift or presentation to (someone). [from 14th c.]
    Synonyms: compliment, bestow
    She was presented with an honorary degree for her services to entertainment.
    • 1980, William Cowper, “The Vicissitudes Experienced in a Christian Life”, in Baird, John D., Ryskamp, Charles, editors, The poems of William Cowper (Cantique; 69)‎, revised edition, volume 3, quoted in translated from Madame Guyon and published in 1801, Oxford; New York City: Clarendon Press; Oxford University Press, →ISBN, →ISSN Invalid ISSN, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 91, lines 117–120:
      Live thou, and reign, forever, glorious Lord! / My last, least off’ring, I present thee now— / Renounce me, leave me, and be still ador’d! / Slay me, my God, and I applaud the blow.
  16. (transitive) To deliver (something abstract) as though as a gift; to offer. [from 14th c.]
    I presented my compliments to Lady Featherstoneshaw.
  17. (transitive) To hand over (a bill etc.) to be paid. [from 15th c.]
  18. (intransitive, zoology) To display one's female genitalia in a way that signals to others that one is ready for copulation. Also referred to as lordosis behaviour. [from 20th c.]
  19. (fandom slang) In omegaverse fiction, to have one's secondary sex (alpha, omega, or beta) become apparent, typically at puberty. [from 21st c.]
    • 2018, Ninna Ilias, "Reimagining Sherlock Holmes: A Study in Gender Performativity", thesis submitted to Radboud University, page 59:
      Sherlock’s gender performance itself remains unchanged, with the exception of the hormonal changes he goes through after presenting as an omega.
    • 2019, Tessa Baron, "Just Go Find Yourself a Nice Alpha: Gender and Consent in Supernatural Fandom's Alpha/Beta/Omega Universe", thesis submitted to Oregon State University, page 17:
      People “present” their secondary genders during puberty, so girls and boys are raised without knowing if they will be alphas, betas, or omegas.
    • 2020, Goldmann, Julia Elena, “Wie schreibt man Haus... Mpreg Fan Fiction und Konzepte von Körpern, Geschlecht und Familie [How to Write House… Mpreg Fan Fiction and Concepts of Bodies, Gender and Family]”, in Hausbacher, Eva, Herbst, Liesa, Ostwald, Julia, Thiele, Martina, editors, geschlecht_transkulturell: Aktuelle Forschungsperspektiven [gender_transcultural: current research perspectives]‎, 1st edition, Wiesbaden: Springer VS, published 2020, →DOI, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 262:
      Deans kräftige Statur und Größe kommen eher dem stereotypischen Körperbau eines Alphas nahe als dem eines Omegas, was die große Enttäuschung seines Vaters verursachte, der erwartete, dass er als Alpha präsentiert.
      Dean’s strong build and height come closer to the stereotypical build of an Alpha than to an Omega, which caused the huge disappointment for his father, who expected him to present as an Alpha.
    • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:present.
Derived terms
Translations

Etymology 3

From presend +‎ -t

Verb

present

  1. simple past and past participle of presend

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