Looking forward to something with excitement or dread, or predicting that something will happen before it actually does.
From Latin 'anticipare,' combining 'ante' (before) and 'capere' (to take or seize). It originally meant 'to take before,' and developed into 'to do something ahead of time' and then 'to expect.'
The Latin roots literally mean 'seize before'—ancient Romans used it when you grabbed something before someone else could. This same 'grabbing ahead of time' idea led to expecting or predicting, because both involve acting before the moment arrives.
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