means The protective care of God or nature, or the foresight and prudent management that prepares for the future.

from From Latin 'providentia,' meaning foresight, from 'providere'—'pro-' (ahead) plus 'videre' (to see), literally 'to see ahead.' The same 'videre' gives us 'video,' 'vision,' and 'evident.' The word arrived in English through Old French in the medieval period, already carrying its double life: the ordinary human knack for looking ahead and saving for a rainy day, and the grander theological sense of a God who sees the whole road. The capitalized 'Providence' as a name for the deity follows naturally—and the New England city was christened by Roger Williams in gratitude for what he took to be exactly that watchful care.