mid-15c., premunicion, premunition, "preliminary warning, previous notification or admonishment," from Anglo-French premunition (late 14c.), Old French premonicion, from Medieval Latin praemonitionem (nominative praemonitio) "a forewarning," noun of action from past-participle stem of Latin praemonere "forewarn," from prae "before" (see pre-) + monere "to admonish, warn, advise," from PIE *moneie- "to make think of, remind," suffixed (causative) form of root *men- (1) "to think."