proclaim

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English proclamen, also proclaimen,^[2][3] borrowed from Anglo-Norman proclamer and Middle French proclamer,^[4][5] and directly borrowed from Latin prōclāmō (“to cry out, call out”),^[4][5][6][7] formed from prō- (“forth”) and clāmō (“to cry out, shout”).^[3][6][8] Etymonline traces the prefix to Proto-Indo-European *per- (“forward”) and the verb to *kele- (“to shout”).^[6] In post-classical Latin the verb also meant to announce publicly, from the 12th century.^[4] The Anglo-Norman verb is recorded from 1381, meaning to proclaim or announce publicly.^[9] The spelling proclaymen, recorded from about 1425, came from the influence of claim.^{[5][3][10][7]}

Earliest recorded meaning

To declare publicly, to make known aloud: before 1393, in Gower's Confessio Amantis,^[4][5] where the verb also already meant to declare a person to be something.^[4] Gower used it seven times.^[11]

Semantic evolution

From the first, the verb meant both to announce something openly and to declare someone to be something.^[4][2] From the early 15th century it was used of official announcements made aloud in a public place, as by a herald or crier.^[4][6] The phrase to proclaim war followed in the later 15th century.^[4] In law, to proclaim a fine was to read it in open court, a use recorded from 1483 to 1792.^[4][8] From 1597, in Hooker, a thing could proclaim something in the sense of showing it plainly.^[4] The verb was used from 1649 of announcing a monarch's accession.^[4] Weekley notes that to proclaim an Irish district as no longer fit to be governed by ordinary law dates from 1881.^[12] Johnson (1755) defined it first as to promulgate by a solemn or legal publication.^[13] A noun proclaim, proclamation, was used from 1461 to the 19th century.^[4][8]

Timeline

• before 1393 – to declare publicly; to declare a person to be something.^[4][5]
• c. 1425 – to make an official announcement, especially aloud in a public place; the spelling proclaymen.^[4][5]
• 1461 – noun, a proclamation (obsolete by 1880).^[4]
• 1483 – in law, to read a fine in open court (obsolete by 1792).^[4]
• c. 1485 – to proclaim war.^[4]
• 1562 – to publish the banns of marriage.^[4]
• 1597 – of a thing, to show or reveal plainly.^[4]
• 1649 – to declare a monarch's accession.^[4]
• 1825 – of a notice or sign, to display a public announcement.^[4]

Meanings

Verb

1. To announce or declare publicly and officially: The mayor proclaimed a day of mourning.^[14][15][4]
2. To declare a person or thing officially to be something: She was proclaimed queen.^[4][15][8]
3. To show or indicate plainly; to reveal: His accent proclaimed his northern roots.^[14][15][4]
4. To praise or extol.^[14][2]

Noun

1. (obsolete, 1461–1880) A proclamation.^[4][8][15]

Word family

• proclaimer
• reproclaim
• self-proclaimed
• unproclaimed

Related words

• proclamation
• claim
• clamour
• acclaim
• declaim
• exclaim
• reclaim

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
3. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
6. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b c d e Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
10. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
11. ^ Benson, Larry D., Glossarial Concordance to Middle English (Chaucer, Gower), Johns Hopkins University, github.com/jhu-digital-manuscripts/gcme
12. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
13. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
14. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
15. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster