Etymologically
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Professor

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Pronunciation

  • /pʁoˈfɛsoːɐ̯/[1]

Forms

Professor m (genitive Professors, plural Professoren, diminutive Professorchen n or Professorlein n, feminine Professorin)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin professor (“public teacher”), borrowed in the 16th century, an agent noun of profiteor (“to declare publicly, profess”), from prō- and fateor (“to confess, acknowledge”), which belongs to for (“to speak”).[2][3][4] In antiquity it was a title of grammarians and lecturers, and in the Middle Ages a usual title of teachers at universities.[2] Pfeifer notes that the name first appears in the theological faculties, whose teachers were called sacrae theologiae professores from about 1400, and that the sense “profess” and Church Latin cōnfessor (“confessor”) may have played a part.[3] He reads the word as “one who professes a learned calling publicly”, or perhaps “one who announces that he will speak and teach in public”.[3] The same word is Dutch professor, English professor, French professeur and Swedish professor.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the 16th century Professor gradually became the professional title of university teachers in all faculties, and partly of teachers at Latin schools, after the old titles of doctor and master had lost value by being granted to outsiders.[3] Simon Roth's dictionary of 1571 explains it as a public teacher of a liberal art.[5][6] Thomas Platter complained that there were too many professors, dan iren sind oft schier mer den studenten, “for there are often almost more of them than students”.[6]

Semantic evolution

In 1543 the word is used in Cologne for a teacher at a Latin school, a sense kept in Austria for a teacher at a grammar school.[5][7] Adelung (1777) distinguishes the ordinary and the extraordinary professor, and the abstract Professur “professorship” appears in the 17th century.[5][3] The feminine Professorin is recorded in 1728, in Gottsched, of a “women's academy”.[5] A popular pronunciation Professer, rhymed with besser, is found in Thümmel and Heine.[6] Today it is also an honorary title given by the state to distinguished scholars and artists.[4][7]

Timeline

  • c. 1400 – Teachers of theology are called sacrae theologiae professores.[3]
  • 1543 – Professor is used in Cologne for a teacher at a Latin school.[5]
  • 16th century – The word becomes the title of university teachers in all faculties.[2][3]
  • 1571 – Simon Roth defines it in his dictionary.[5]
  • 17th century – Professur is first recorded.[3][5]
  • 1728 – First record of Professorin.[5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (no plural) The highest academic title, given to a university teacher, a distinguished scholar or an artist: Sie wurde im Frühjahr zur Professorin ernannt.[7][1]
  2. A holder of this title; a university teacher: Er lehrt als Professor für Geschichte in Kiel.[7][1]
  3. (dated; still Austria) A teacher at a Gymnasium.[7][8]

Word family

  • Professorin
  • Professur

Usage notes

Ein zerstreuter Professor is a colloquial, humorous name for a very absent-minded person.[7] The usual abbreviation is Prof.[7][9]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 724
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Pfeifer, Wolfgang, et al. (1993), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Deutschen, 2nd ed., Berlin: Akademie-Verlag; digital revised version in the DWDS, dwds.de
  4. ^ a b Duden. Das Herkunftswörterbuch: Etymologie der deutschen Sprache (2020), 6th ed., Duden vol. 7, Berlin: Dudenverlag, p. 652
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Paul, Hermann (2002), Deutsches Wörterbuch: Bedeutungsgeschichte und Aufbau unseres Wortschatzes, 10th ed., ed. Helmut Henne, Heidrun Kämper and Georg Objartel, Tübingen: Niemeyer
  6. ^ a b c Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm (1854–1961), Deutsches Wörterbuch, 16 vols. in 32, Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 13, 2160
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag
  8. ^ Wiktionary, das freie Wörterbuch (German Wiktionary), de.wiktionary.org
  9. ^ Duden. Das Fremdwörterbuch (2007), 9th ed., Duden vol. 5, Mannheim: Dudenverlag