My son asked me today if there is a relationship between the verbs "to pare" and "to prepare"... makes sense to me, but I figure to bring it to the experts. Origin?

give that boy a cookie!

here's what etymonline.com had to say:
preparation
1390, "act of preparing," from L. præparationem (nom. præparatio) "a making ready," from præparatus, pp. of præparare "prepare," from præ- "before" + parare "make ready" (see pare). Meaning "a substance especially prepared" is from 1646. Verb prepare is attested from 1466, from M.Fr. preparer, from L. præparare; slang shortening prep is from 1927. Preparatory is first recorded 1413, from L.L. præparatorius, from L. præparatus. Applied from 1822 to junior schools in which pupils are "prepared" for a higher school.

but if you really want to get into it, go here:
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?searchmode=none&search=pare

pare is something else! seems to be a root of just about everything.

welcome florence!

Hi Florence, Can I have a cookie too?