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Origin and history of pro

pro(n.1)

1866 as a shortening of professional (n.). The adjective is attested by 1915 (in golfing's pro shop, workshop run by the resident professional at a club). The use of professional in reference to prostitutes seems to have accounted for proette in sports writing for "female pro golfer" (1968).

pro(n.2)

"a consideration or argument in favor," c. 1400, from Latin pro (prep.) "on behalf of, in place of, before, for, in exchange for, just as" (from PIE root *per- (1) "forward," hence "in front of, before, first, chief"). Pro and con is short for pro and contra (c. 1400) "for and against" (Latin pro et contra).

also from c. 1400

Entries linking to pro

professional(n.)

"a professional person, one who follows a trade or occupation in a professional way," 1798, from professional (adj.).

con(n.1, adv.)

"negation; in the negative; the arguments, arguers, or voters against a proposal" (mainly in pro and con), 1570s, short for Latin contra "against" (see contra (prep., adv.)). Compare pro (n.2).

*per-(1)

Proto-Indo-European root forming prepositions, etc., meaning "forward," and, by extension, "in front of, before, first, chief, toward, near, against," etc.

It might form all or part of: afford; approach; appropriate; approve; approximate; barbican; before; deprive; expropriate; far; first; for; for-; fore; fore-; forefather; foremost; former (adj.); forth; frame; frau; fret; Freya; fro; froward; from; furnish; furniture; further; galore; hysteron-proteron; impervious; improbity; impromptu; improve; palfrey; par (prep.); para- (1) "alongside, beyond; altered; contrary; irregular, abnormal;" paradise; pardon; paramount; paramour; parvenu; pellucid; per; per-; percent; percussion; perennial; perestroika; perfect; perfidy; perform; perfume; perfunctory; perhaps; peri-; perish; perjury; permanent; permeate; permit; pernicious; perpendicular; perpetual; perplex; persecute; persevere; perspective; perspire; persuasion; pertain; peruse; pervade; pervert; pierce; portray; postprandial; prae-; Prakrit; pre-; premier; presbyter; Presbyterian; preterite; pride; priest; primal; primary; primate; primavera; prime; primeval; primitive; primo; primogenitor; primogeniture; primordial; primus; prince; principal; principle; prior; pristine; private; privilege; privy; pro (n.2) "a consideration or argument in favor;" pro-; probably; probe; probity; problem; proceed; proclaim; prodigal; produce; profane; profess; profile; profit; profound; profuse; project; promise; prompt; prone; proof; proper; property; propinquity; prophet; prose; prostate; prosthesis; protagonist; Protean; protect; protein; Proterozoic; protest; proto-; protocol; proton; protoplasm; Protozoa; proud; prove; proverb; provide; provoke; prow; prowess; proximate; Purana; purchase; purdah; reciprocal; rapprochement; reproach; reprove; veneer.

It might also be the source of: Sanskrit pari "around, about, through," parah "farther, remote, ulterior," pura "formerly, before," pra- "before, forward, forth;" Avestan pairi- "around," paro "before;" Hittite para "outside of," Greek peri "around, about, near, beyond," pera "across, beyond," paros "before," para "from beside, beyond," pro "before;" Latin pro "before, for, on behalf of, instead of," porro "forward," prae "before," per "through;" Old Church Slavonic pra-dedu "great-grandfather;" Russian pere- "through;" Lithuanian per "through;" Old Irish ire "farther," roar "enough;" Gothic faura "before," Old English fore (prep.) "before, in front of," (adv.) "before, previously," fram "forward, from," feor "to a great distance, long ago;" German vor "before, in front of;" Old Irish air- Gothic fair-, German ver-, Old English fer-, intensive prefixes.

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    Trends of pro

    adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.

    More to explore

    prolific
    Latin proles is contracted from *pro-oles, from PIE *pro-al-, from *pro- "forth" (see pro-) + root *al- (2) "to grow, nourish...
    from
    (source also of Old Saxon, Old High German, Gothic fram "from, away," Old Norse fra "from," fram "forward"), from PIE *pro-mo...-, suffixed form of *pro (see pro-), extended form of root *per- (1) "forward."...
    impromptu
    ablative of promptus "ready, prepared; set forth, brought forward," from past participle of promere "to bring out," from pro..."before, forward, for" (see pro-) + emere "obtain" (from PIE root *em- "to take, distribute")....
    proficiency
    proficiens), present participle of proficere "accomplish, make progress; be useful, do good; have success, profit," from pro..."forward" (see pro-) + combining form of facere "to make, do" (from PIE root *dhe- "to set, put")....
    prolegomenon
    a book," from Greek prolegomenon, noun use of neuter passive present participle of prolegein "to say beforehand," from pro..."before" (see pro-) + legein "to speak" (from PIE root *leg- (1) "to collect, gather," with derivatives meaning "to speak...
    propound
    forth, set forth, lay out, display, expose to view," figuratively "set before the mind; resolve; intend, design," from pro..."before" (see pro-) + ponere "to put" (see position (n.))....
    prepense
    obsolete verb prepense "consider beforehand," originally purpense, from Old French pourpenser "to plan, meditate" (11c.), from pro..."before" (see pro-) + penser "to think," from Latin pensare "weigh, consider," frequentative of pendere "to hang, cause...
    ain't
    1706, originally a contraction of am not, and considered proper as such until in early 19c. it began to be also a generic contraction of are not, is not, has not, etc. This was popularized in representations of London cockney dialect in Dickens, etc., which led to the word being
    amateur
    1784, "one who has a taste for some art, study, or pursuit, but does not practice it," from French amateur "one who loves, lover" (16c., restored from Old French ameour), from Latin amatorem (nominative amator) "lover, friend," agent noun from amatus, past participle of amare "to
    testament
    late 13c., "last will disposing of property," from Latin testamentum "a last will, publication of a will," from testari "make a will, be witness to," from testis "witness," from PIE *tri-st-i- "third person standing by," from root *tris- "three" (see three) on the notion of "thir

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