Etymologically
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pro

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Forms

pro (preposition with the accusative; also an adverb, and as a noun das Pro)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin prō (“before, for, instead of, in proportion to”), a learned borrowing first used in the language of merchants, recorded since the 14th century.[2][3][4] The Latin preposition corresponds to Ancient Greek πρό (pró, “before, forward”), and the Duden relates it to the German prefix ver-.[2][5]

The same Latin word is the prefix pro- of many loanwords, with senses such as “forward” (as in produzieren), “in favour of” (as in protegieren), “instead of” (as in Pronomen) and “in proportion to” (as in Proportion); the Greek word supplied a prefix of its own, as in Prolog and Programm.[2][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the earliest use, the language of commerce, the word stood before measures, weights and periods of time, “per”.[2] The Early New High German dictionary records three uses: “for the benefit of”, “in the place of, as good as” and, with two quantities, “in proportion to, for each”.[4]

Semantic evolution

The commercial sense “each, per” became the main one, common in phrases such as pro Jahr, pro Kopf and pro Person.[2][5] Beside it the word came to be used as an adverb meaning “for, in favour”, as in pro eingestellt sein, the opposite of kontra.[2][5] The noun das Pro “the case for” is mainly used in the fixed pair das Pro und Kontra.[6][1]

Timeline

  • 14th century – First recorded in the language of commerce, before measures and weights.[2][3]
  • 1350–1650 – Early New High German uses it also for “in favour of” and “instead of”.[4]

Meanings

Preposition

  1. per, for each: zehn Euro pro Stück, zweimal pro Woche.[1][7]
  2. For, in favour of.[1]

Adverb

  1. In favour: Bist du pro oder kontra?[1]

Noun

  1. (das Pro) The case for something: das Pro und Kontra, the arguments for and against.[1][6]

Word family

  • pro-
  • kontra
  • ver-

Usage notes

Pro Kopf and colloquial pro Nase mean “per person, each”.[1][5] A separate colloquial noun der Pro is short for Golfpro, a golf professional.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Pfeifer, Wolfgang, et al. (1993), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Deutschen, 2nd ed., Berlin: Akademie-Verlag; digital revised version in the DWDS, dwds.de
  3. ^ a b Wiktionary, das freie Wörterbuch (German Wiktionary), de.wiktionary.org
  4. ^ a b c Anderson, Robert R.; Goebel, Ulrich; Reichmann, Oskar, eds. (1989–), Frühneuhochdeutsches Wörterbuch, Berlin / New York: De Gruyter; FWB-online, fwb-online.de
  5. ^ a b c d e Duden. Das Herkunftswörterbuch: Etymologie der deutschen Sprache (2014), 5th ed., Duden vol. 7, Berlin / Mannheim / Zürich: Dudenverlag, p. 657
  6. ^ a b Duden. Das Fremdwörterbuch (2007), 9th ed., Duden vol. 5, Mannheim: Dudenverlag
  7. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org