Previsioning

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. The act or process of making predictions about future events or conditions
2. Forecasting or anticipating what may happen before it occurs
3. The process of envisioning or planning for future possibilities or outcomes

Etymology: "Previsioning" is the present participle and gerund of "prevision", so its history is really the history of "prevision". The noun came into English from Old French "prevision", which was itself taken from Late Latin "praevisio", meaning a foreseeing. That Late Latin noun is built from Latin "praevidere", a compound of "prae" ("before") and "videre" ("to see"), so the core idea is literally seeing ahead. The English noun appeared in Middle English as "previsioun", carrying that same sense of looking forward in time. Its shape has stayed close to the Latin structure throughout: the "pre-" prefix marks the advance look, and the "-sion" ending comes from the Latin noun-forming pattern that also gives words like "vision" and "decision".

Synonyms: forecasting, anticipating, predicting, foreseeing, prophesying