Preorders

Part of speech: noun, verb

Definitions

1. Requests made ahead of time to buy an item before its official release or availability date
2. Advance purchase commitments submitted for a product that has not yet been released to shoppers
3. Bookings placed in advance for something still to be launched, secured before it reaches the market

Etymology: "Preorders" is simply the plural of "preorder," a noun for an order placed before a product is available. The word is a plain compound: the prefix "pre-", meaning "before," attached to "order." The prefix comes from Latin "prae," which entered English through Middle English "pre-," while "order" traces back through Old French "ordre" to Latin "ordinem," meaning a row, rank, or arrangement, and ultimately to the Proto-Italic root "ordō." The two parts date from very different periods. "Order" arrived in English in the Middle English period, carrying its Latin sense of arrangement into everything from a rank of soldiers to a command, while "pre-" was already a productive prefix in Middle English. The combination "preorder" is a modern formation, built the ordinary way English joins a prefix to an existing noun, so its history is a matter of putting two long-established pieces together rather than a single dramatic shift.

Synonyms: reserve, book, advance order