prevenir
/pɾebeˈniɾ/ · B2 · verb
to prevent, to forestall, to preempt, to ward off, to stave off
🛡️ pre- (before) + venir (come) = stop it before it comes
From Latin praevenire, 'to come before'. Prevenir means to get there ahead of a problem, so it never arrives: you prevent a disease or forewarn someone. English 'prevent' and 'prevenient' share the same root, and venir also appears in 'convenir' and 'provenir'.