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pro

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English has two words spelled pro: “for, in favor”, from Latin prō, as in pros and cons, and the short form of professional.[1][2][3]

Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /prəʊ/, US /proʊ/[4]

pro1 in favor

Etymology

The word meaning “in favor” is inherited from Middle English pro,[5] borrowed from Latin prō (“for, on behalf of, before, in place of”),[3][1][5] which is related to per and prae and to Latin prior and prīmus;[2] Etymonline takes it to Proto-Indo-European *per- (“forward, in front of”).[3] The adverb is abstracted from pro and contra “for and against”, New Latin prō et contrā.[1][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A reason or argument in favor: probably about 1400,[1][3] the 15th century in Merriam-Webster;[5] pro and contra is from probably before 1430.[1]

Semantic evolution

Pro and con is short for pro and contra;[3] Johnson (1755) called it “despicable cant”.[6] The adverb, “in favor”, is from 1572,[1] and the preposition, “in favor of, for”, from 1817.[5] The noun also names a person who supports a proposal or argues the affirmative side.[7][2] Many Latin phrases with pro are used in English, such as pro rata (1354 in the OED), pro forma (1573–80) and pro bono publico (before 1726).[8]

Timeline

  • c. 1400 – noun, an argument in favor.[1][3]
  • before 1430 – pro and contra.[1]
  • 1572 – adverb, in favor.[1]
  • 1817 – preposition, in favor of.[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. An argument or consideration in favor of something: the pros and cons.
  2. A person who supports a proposal or takes the affirmative side.

Adverb

  1. In favor; affirmatively: arguments pro and con.

Preposition

  1. In favor of; for.

Word family

  • pro and con

pro2 professional

Etymology

The short word for a professional is a clipping of professional.[1][3][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

A professional, especially in sport: 1866, in the magazine Sporting Life,[1][3][8] and in Merriam-Webster 1856.[5] At Oxford University pro was earlier short for pro-proctor, from 1848.[8]

Semantic evolution

The adjective is attested by 1915 in the golfing pro shop, a shop run by the resident professional at a club,[3] from 1905 in the OED,[8] and as a general adjective from 1932, also in sport.[1][8] Sports writers used proette for a female professional golfer from 1968,[3] and professional was also used of prostitutes.[3] A person very experienced in some activity is an old pro.[7][9]

Timeline

  • 1848 – short for pro-proctor.[8]
  • 1866 – a professional.[1][8]
  • 1905 – pro shop.[8]
  • 1932 – adjective, professional.[1][8]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. (informal) A professional, especially a professional athlete.
  2. (informal) A person with long experience of something: an old pro.

Adjective

  1. (informal) Professional: pro football.

Word family

  • proette

Usage notes

The prefix pro- has its own entry.[5] PRO is also an abbreviation for public relations officer and, in Britain, the Public Record Office.[10]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  2. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  7. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  9. ^ Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  10. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press