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prose [prose 词源字典]: prose: [14] Prose is etymologically ‘straightforward discourse’ (as opposed to the more sophisticated discourse of poetry). The term comes via Old French prose from Latin prōsa, which was short for prōsa ōrātiō ‘straightforward discourse’. Prōsus ‘straightforward, direct’ was a contraction of an earlier prōversus, the past participle of prōvertere ‘turn forward’. This was a compound verb formed from the prefix prō- ‘forward’ and vertere ‘turn’ (source of English verse, version, etc).
=> verse, version[prose etymology, prose origin, 英语词源]
prosecute: prosecute: [15] If you prosecute someone, etymologically you ‘pursue’ them. The word comes from prōsecūt-, the past participial stem of prōsequī ‘pursue’, a compound verb formed from the prefix prō- ‘forward’ and sequī ‘follow’ (source of English sequal, sequence, etc). The word’s legal application emerged in the late 16th century.
=> pursue, sequal, sequence, suit
proselyte: proselyte: [14] A proselyte is etymologically someone who ‘comes to’ a new religion. The word comes via Latin prosēlytus from Greek proséluthos ‘person who comes to a place’, a derivative of the verb prosérkhesthai ‘come to, approach’.
prosody: prosody: [15] Despite the passing similarity, prosody has no etymological connection with prose. In fact, its closest English relative is ode. It comes via Latin prosōdia from Greek prosōidíā, which originally meant ‘song with an instrumental accompaniment’. This was a compound formed from prós ‘in addition to’ and ōidé ‘song’ (source of English ode [16] and also of parody [16], rhapsody, and probably tragedy).
=> melody, ode, parody, rhapsody
prostitute: prostitute: [16] To prostitute something is etymologically to ‘set it up in front of everyone’. The word comes from the past participle of Latin prōstituere, a compound formed from the prefix prō- ‘before, in public’ and statuere ‘set, place’ (source of English statute). The Latin verb evolved semantically via ‘expose publicly’ and ‘offer for sale’ to ‘make available for sex in return for money’, and the feminine form of its past participle, prōstitūta, foreshadows its English noun descendant prostitute.
=> statue, status, statute
prostrate: prostrate: see strata
dysprosium (n.): element, obtained 1906 from an earth discovered in 1886, the last to be extracted from the complex earth called yttria, and named dysprosia in reference to the difficulty of obtaining it, from Greek dysprositos "hard to get at, difficult of access," from dys- "bad" (see dys-) + prositos "approachable." With metallic element suffix -ium.
leprosy (n.): 1530s (earlier lepruse, mid-15c.), from leprous; see leper. First used in Coverdale Bible, where it renders Hebrew cara'ath, which apparently was a comprehensive term for skin diseases. Because of pejorative associations, the use of the word in medical context has been banned by the World Health Organization and replaced by Hansen's disease (1938), named for Norwegian physician Gerhard Henrik Armauer Hansen (1841-1912) who in 1871 discovered the bacillus that causes it.
nolle prosequi: formal notice to a plaintiff that the prosecutor will not continue a suit, Latin, literally "to be unwilling to pursue." The verb nolle-pross is attested from 1880.
prosaic (adj.): 1650s, "having to do with prose," from Middle French prosaique and directly from Medieval Latin prosaicus "in prose" (16c.), from Latin prosa "prose" (see prose). Meaning "having the character of prose (in contrast to the feeling of poetry)" is by 1746; extended sense of "ordinary" is by 1813, both from French.
proscenium (n.): c. 1600, "stage of an ancient theater," from Latin proscaenium, from Greek proskenion "the space in front of the scenery," also "entrance of a tent," from pro "in front" (see pro-) + skene "stage, tent, booth" (see scene). Modern sense of "space between the curtain and the orchestra" is attested from 1807.
prosciutto (n.): Italian spiced ham, 1911, from Italian, alteration (probably by influence of prosciugato "dried") of presciutto, from pre-, intensive prefix + -sciutto, from Latin exsuctus "lacking juice, dried up," past participle of exsugere "suck out, draw out moisture," from ex- "out" (see ex-) + sugere "to suck" (see sup (v.2)).
proscribe (v.): early 15c., "write before, prefix," from Latin proscribere "publish in writing" (literally "write in front of"), including senses of "publish as having forfeited one's property, condemn, outlaw before the world," from pro- "before" (see pro-) + scribere "to write" (see script (n.)). Meaning "prohibit as wrong or dangerous" first recorded 1620s.
proscription (n.): late 14c., "decree of condemnation, outlawry," from Latin proscriptionem (nominative proscriptio) "a public notice (of sale); proscription, outlawry, confiscation," noun of action from past participle stem of proscribere (see proscribe).
proscriptive (adj.): 1757, from Latin proscript-, past participle stem of proscribere (see proscribe) + -ive. Related: Proscriptively.
prose (n.): c. 1300, "story, narration," from Old French prose (13c.), from Latin prosa oratio "straightforward or direct speech" (without the ornaments of verse), from prosa, fem. of prosus, earlier prorsus "straightforward, direct," from Old Latin provorsus "(moving) straight ahead," from pro- "forward" (see pro-) + vorsus "turned," past participle of vertere "to turn" (see verse).
"Good prose, to say nothing of the original thoughts it conveys, may be infinitely varied in modulation. It is only an extension of metres, an amplification of harmonies, of which even the best and most varied poetry admits but few." [Walter Savage Landor, "Imaginary Conversations"]
Meaning "prose writing; non-poetry" is from mid-14c. The sense of "dull or commonplace expression" is from 1680s, out of earlier sense "plain expression" (1560s). Those who lament the want of an English agent noun to correspond to poet might try prosaist (1776), proser (1620s), or Frenchified prosateur (1880), though the first two in their day also acquired in English the secondary sense "dull writer."
prosecute (v.): early 15c., "follow up, pursue" (some course or action), from Latin prosecutus, past participle of prosequi "follow after, accompany; chase, pursue; attack, assail, abuse" (see pursue). Meaning "bring to a court of law" is first recorded 1570s. Meaning "go into detail" is from 1530s.
prosecution (n.): 1560s, "action of pursuing," from Middle French prosecution (late 13c.) and directly from Late Latin prosecutionem (nominative prosecutio) "a following," noun of action from past participle stem of prosequi (see prosecute). Meaning "legal action" is from 1630s.
prosecutor (n.): 1590s, from Medieval Latin prosecutor, agent noun from prosequi (see prosecute). Specific legal sense of "one who brings a case in a court of law" is from 1620s; earlier such a person was a promoter (late 15c.). Related: Prosecutorial.
proselyte (n.): late 14c., from Old French proselite (13c., Modern French prosélyte), from Late Latin proselytus, from Greek proselytos "convert (to Judaism), stranger, one who has come over," noun use of adjective meaning "having arrived," from second aorist stem of proserkhesthai "to come or go; surrender; associate with," from proti "toward" + root of eleusesthai "to be going to come," from PIE *elu-to-, from root *leudh- "to go." Originally in English "a Gentile converted to Judaism" (late 14c.).
proselytise (v.): chiefly British English spelling of proselytize (q.v.). For suffix, see -ize. Related: Proselytised; proselytising.
proselytism (n.): 1650s, from proselyte + -ism.
proselytization (n.): 1846, from proselytize + -ation.
proselytize (v.): 1670s, "to make proselytes," from proselyte + -ize. Related: Proselytized; proselytizing.
proselytizer (n.): 1811, agent noun from proselytize.
Proserpina: daughter of Ceres and wife of Pluto, Latin (or Etruscan) modification of Greek Persephone, perhaps influenced by Latin proserpere "to creep forth" on notion of the germination of plants.
prosify (v.): 1774, from prose + -ify. Related: Prosified; prosifying.
prosiness (n.): 1814, from prosy + -ness.
prosit (interj.): 1846, toast or expression wishing good health (from 16c., famously a drinking pledge by German students), Latin, literally "may it advantage (you)," third person singular present subjunctive of prodesse "to do good, be profitable" (see proud).
prosodemic (adj.): 1964, with -ic + prosodeme (1940), from Greek proso-, probably related to pros "toward, to, at, against, near."
prosody (n.): late 15c., from Latin prosodia "accent of a syllable," from Greek prosoidia "song sung to music," also "accent, modulation," literally "a singing in addition to," from pros "to, forward, near" + oide "song, poem" (see ode). Related: Prosodiacal; prosodist.
prosopagnosia (n.): 1950, Medical Latin from German prosopagnosie (1948), from Greek prosopon "face" (see prosopopeia) + agnosia "ignorance" (see agnostic).
prosopopeia (n.): also prosopopoeia, 1560s, from Latin prosopopoeia, from Greek prosopopoiia "the putting of speeches into the mouths of others," from prosopon "person, face" (literally "that which is toward the eyes," from pros "to" + ops "eye, face;" see eye (n.)) + poiein "make" (see poet). Generally, a rhetorical figure in which an imaginary or absent person is made to speak or act.
prospect (n.): early 15c., "act of looking into the distance," from Latin prospectus "distant view, look out; sight, faculty of sight," noun use of past participle of prospicere "look out on, look forward," from pro- "forward" (see pro-) + specere "look at" (see scope (n.1)). Meaning "extensive view of the landscape" is from 1530s; transferred sense of "mental view or survey" is from 1620s. Sense of "person or thing considered promising" is from 1922. Prospects "expectations, things looked forward to" is from 1660s.
prospect (v.): "explore for gold, examine land with a view to a mining claim," 1841, from prospect (n.) in specialized sense of "spot giving prospects of ore" (1832). Earlier in a sense "look forth, look out over" (1550s), from Latin prospectare. Related: Prospected; prospecting.
prospective (adj.): 1580s, from obsolete French prospectif and directly from Medieval Latin prospectivus "affording a prospect; pertaining to a prospect," from Latin prospect-, past participle stem of prospicere (see prospect (n.)). In 17c. also as a noun, "spy glass, telescope." Related: Prospectively.
prospector (n.): also prospecter, 1846 in the mining sense; agent noun from prospect (v.).
prospectus (n.): 1765, from French prospectus (1723) and directly from Latin prospectus "view" (see prospect (n.)).
prosper (v.): mid-14c., from Old French prosperer (14c.) and directly from Latin prosperare "cause to succeed, render happy," from prosperus "favorable, fortunate, prosperous," perhaps literally "agreeable to one's wishes," traditionally regarded as from Old Latin pro spere "according to expectation, according to one's hope," from pro "for" + ablative of spes "hope," from PIE root *spe- "to flourish, succeed, thrive, prosper" (see speed (n.)).
prosperity (n.): c. 1200, from Old French prosprete (12c., Modern French prospérité) and directly from Latin prosperitatem (nominative prosperitas) "good fortune," from prosperus (see prosper).
prosperous (adj.): early 15c., "tending to bring success," from prosper + -ous, or else from obsolete Middle French prospereus (15c.), from prosperer. The sense of "flourishing" is first recorded late 15c.
prostaglandin (n.): 1936, from German (1935); see prostate + gland + chemical suffix -in (2).
prostate (n.): 1640s, from Middle French prostate, from Medieval Latin prostata "the prostate," from Greek prostates (aden) "prostate (gland)," from prostates "leader, ruler, guardian; one standing in front," from proistanai "set before," from pro- "before" (see pro-) + histanai "cause to stand" from PIE root *sta- "to stand" (see stet). So called from its position at the base of the bladder.
prostatitis (n.): 1844, from prostate + -itis "inflammation."
prosthesis (n.): 1550s, "addition of a letter or syllable to a word," from Late Latin, from Greek prosthesis "addition," from prostithenai "add to," from pros "to" + tithenai "to put, place" (see theme). Meaning "artificial body part" is first recorded c. 1900, from earlier use to describe the medical art of making artificial limbs (1706), on notion of "that which is added to" the injured body.
prosthetic (adj.): 1837 in grammar; 1902 in the surgical sense, from Latinized form of Greek prosthetikos "disposed to add," from prosthetas "added," verbal adjective of prostithenai "to put to, add to" (see prosthesis). Related: Prosthetically.
prosthetics (n.): 1894, from prosthetic; also see -ics.
prostitute (v.): 1520s, "to offer to indiscriminate sexual intercourse (usually in exchange for money)," from Latin prostitutus, past participle of prostituere "to expose to prostitution, expose publicly," from pro- "before" (see pro-) + statuere "cause to stand, establish," from PIE root *sta- "to stand," with derivatives meaning "place or thing that is standing" (see stet). Related: Prostituted; prostituting.

The notion of "sex for hire" is not inherent in the etymology, which rather suggests one "exposed to lust" or sex "indiscriminately offered." However, this is now almost the official European term for the institution: German prostituierte, Russian prostitutka, etc. Figurative sense (of abilities, etc.) is from 1570s. Of men, in reference to homosexual acts, from 1886 (in form prostitution); phrase male prostitute attested by 1948.
prostitute (n.): "harlot, woman who offers her body indiscriminately" (usually for money)," 1610s, from Latin prostituta "prostitute," fem. of prostitutus, past participle of prostituere (see prostitute (v.)).
prostitution (n.): 1530s, from Middle French prostitution and directly from Late Latin prostitutionem (nominative prostitutio), noun of action from past participle stem of prostituere (see prostitute).