"P" Word Origins

prominent

Latin

From obsolete French prominent, from Latin prōminēns ("jutting out"), from prō- ("forward") plus mineō ("to project").

prominently

Origin

From prominent plus the adverb-forming suffix -ly.

promiscuity

Latin

From French promiscuité, itself built on the same Latin root as promiscuous.

promiscuous

Latin

From Latin prōmiscuus ("mixed, undivided"), from prō- ("forth") plus misceō ("to mix").

promiscuousness

Origin

From promiscuous + -ness.

promise

Latin

From Old French promesse, from Latin prōmissum, from prōmittō ("to send forth, to say beforehand"), from pro- ("forth") plus mittere ("to send") — the same root behind mission, admit, and permit.

promissory

Medieval Latin

From Medieval Latin prōmissōrius, built on the same root as promise.

promnesia

Origin

Coined by philologist and psychical researcher Frederic W. H. Myers (1843-1901) from Ancient Greek προ- (pro-, “pre-, before”) + μνήμη (mnḗmē, “memory”) + -ία (-ía) on the model of amnesia, from Proto-Indo-European *men- (“to think, mind”). Compare Greek προμνησία (promnisía).

promo

Origin

A shortened, informal form of "promotion" or "promotional."

promontory

Origin

From Medieval Latin prōmontōrium, from prōmineō, from prō- + *mineō (“to project or jut”, from Proto-Indo-European *men- (“to stand out”)) + -tōrium (“place”).

promote

Latin

From Latin prōmōtus, past participle of prōmoveō ("to move forward, advance"), from pro- ("forward") plus moveō ("to move").

promoter

Origin

From promote plus the agent suffix -er.

promotion

Late Latin

From Old French promocion, from Late Latin prōmōtiō, from Latin prōmoveō ("to move forward").

prompt

Latin

From Latin prōmptus ("visible, ready"), past participle of prōmō ("to bring forth"), from pro- ("forth") plus emō ("to take, buy"). A doublet of pronto.

prompter

Origin

From prompt plus the agent suffix -er.

promptly

Origin

From prompt plus the adverb-forming suffix -ly.

promulgate

Origin

Inherited from Middle English promulgaten, from Latin prōmulgātus, perfect passive participle of prōmulgō (“to make known, publish”), either from provulgō (“to make known, publish”), from pro (“forth”) + vulgō (“to publish”), or from mulgeō (“to bring forth”, literally “to milk”); see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix). Doublet of promulge.

promulgation

Origin

From Middle French promulgation, from Latin prōmulgātiō.

promulge

Origin

Compare French promulguer. See promulgate.

prone

Latin

From Latin prōnus ("bent forward, inclined"), from prō- ("forward").

prong

Origin

From Middle English pronge, perhaps from Middle Low German prange (“stick, restraining device”), from prangen (“to press, pinch”), from Old Saxon *prangan, from Proto-West Germanic *prangan, from Proto-Germanic *pranganą (“to press”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)preng- (“to wrap up, constrict”). Akin to Lithuanian spriñgti (“to choke, become choked or obstructed”), Latvian sprañgât (“cord, constrict”), Ancient Greek σπαργανόω (sparganóō, “to swaddle”), σπάργανον (spárganon, “swaddling cloth”). See also prank, prance, prink.

pronoun

Latin

From Latin pronomen, from pro "in place of" + nomen "name", modelled on the Greek grammatical term.

pronounce

Latin

From Old French prononcier, from Latin prōnūntiō, from pro- ("forth, publicly") plus nūntiō ("to announce").

pronouncement

Origin

From Anglo-Norman and Old French prononcement. By surface analysis, pronounce + -ment. Doublet of pronunciamento.

pronto

Latin

Borrowed from Spanish pronto, from Latin prōmptus. A doublet of prompt.

pronunciation

Latin

From Middle French prononciation, from Latin prōnūntiātiō, from prōnūntiāre ("to proclaim").

proof

Late Latin

From Old French prove, from Late Latin proba ("a proof"), from Latin probō ("to test, to prove"). A doublet of probe.

proofread

Origin

A compound of proof and read.

prop

German

From Middle Dutch proppe ("support, plug"), related to German Pfropfen ("plug").

propaganda

New Latin · 1622

From New Latin prōpaganda, short for Congregātiō dē Prōpāgandā Fidē ("congregation for propagating the faith"), a Catholic missionary committee founded in 1622. The political sense, and its negative connotation, emerged around World War I.

propagate

Latin · 1535

First recorded in 1535, from Latin prōpāgātus, past participle of prōpāgāre.

propagation

Latin

From Old French propagacion, from Latin propagatio.

propagule

Origin

See propagate and -ule.

propane

Greek

Formed from propionic acid plus the chemical suffix -ane; propionic in turn comes from Greek prō- plus píōn ("fat").

propel

Latin

From Latin propellō, from pro- ("forward") plus pellō ("to push").

propellant

Origin

From propel + the suffix -ant, which turns a verb into "the thing that does the action" — so a propellant is literally "that which propels."

propeller

Origin

From propel + -er, "one that propels."

propellor

Origin

Alteration of propeller.

propense

Origin

From Latin prōpensus, perfect passive participle of prōpendeō.

propensity

New Latin

A learned borrowing from New Latin propensitas, built from propense ("inclined, disposed") plus -ity.

proper

Latin

From Middle English propre, via Anglo-Norman and Old French propre, from Latin proprius, meaning "one's own" or "particular to oneself."

properly

Origin

From proper + the adverb-forming suffix -ly.

propertied

Origin

From property + -ed.

properties

Latin

Plural of property, from Old French propriete, from Latin proprietas meaning 'ownership' or 'a distinctive quality', from proprius meaning 'one's own'.

property

Latin

From Middle English propertee, from Anglo-Norman propreté, ultimately from Latin proprietas ("ownership, a particular quality"), from proprius ("one's own"). A doublet of propriety — the two words split apart in meaning over time.

prophecy

Latin

From Old French prophetie, from Latin prophetia, from Greek prophēteia, ultimately from pro- ("before") + phēmi ("to speak") — literally "speaking beforehand."

prophesier

Origin

From prophesy + -er.

prophesy

Old French

From Middle English prophecien, partly from prophecie and partly from Old French prophecier — the verb form of "prophecy."