the.com/preparation

means The work of getting something or someone ready before the real action starts.

from From Latin praeparare — prae ('before') plus parare ('to make ready, to prepare'), the same parare that gives us 'repair' and 'parent' (one who 'brings forth'). It came into English through French in the medieval period, originally covering everything from readying armies to readying medicines — long before it meant cramming the night before.