praescire

Praescire is a Latin verb meaning to know beforehand or to foresee. It is formed from prae- "before" and scire "to know." The infinitive is praescire, and the present tense forms include praescio "I know beforehand." Its perfect is typically praescivi "I knew beforehand."

In classical Latin, praescire denotes foreknowledge of events, outcomes, or actions, often in contexts of rhetoric, law, or everyday speech. The term conveys anticipating what will happen or what one already knows in advance.

In medieval and early modern theology and philosophy, the verb enters debates about divine foreknowledge (praescientia Dei) and related topics such as predestination and free will. The concept is closely linked to discussions of omniscience and the relationship between knowledge of the future and human agency.

In English-language scholarship, praescire is mainly encountered in discussions of Latin syntax and lexical history, or in quotations translating foreknowledge. The phrase remains a niche term, translated as "to foreknow" or "to know beforehand."