pre-conditioning
|pre-condi-tion-ing|
/priː-kənˈdɪʃənɪŋ/
(precondition)
necessary condition
Etymology
'pre-conditioning' originates from the prefix 'pre-' from Latin 'prae' meaning 'before' and 'conditioning' from English 'condition', which comes via Old French 'condition' from Latin 'condicio'.
'pre-' (Latin 'prae') combined with Middle English 'condition' (from Old French 'condition', from Latin 'condicio') produced the verb 'precondition' in modern English; the noun/gerund 'pre-conditioning' developed as a hyphenated or concatenated form to indicate the process.
Initially, 'condition' related to terms, agreement or state ('condicio'), but its sense broadened to mean 'establishing a state or preparing'; thus 'pre-conditioning' came to mean 'making a state or preparing something beforehand'.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
the action or process of conditioning or preparing something in advance.
The pre-conditioning of the samples improved their stability during testing.
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Noun 2
a technical or medical procedure in which tissues, cells, or systems are exposed to a mild stress or treatment beforehand to increase resistance to a later, more severe insult (e.g., ischemic pre-conditioning).
Ischemic pre-conditioning reduced tissue damage in the animal model.
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Verb 1
present participle or gerund form of 'precondition'; to condition or prepare in advance (used for ongoing or continuous action).
They were pre-conditioning the volunteers to tolerate the loud noises before the experiment.
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Adjective 1
describing something done beforehand to prepare or adjust conditions (used attributively).
A pre-conditioning treatment was applied to the metal surface to improve adhesion.
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Last updated: 2025/09/19 16:19