promote

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /prəˈməʊt/, US /prəˈmoʊt/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English promoten,^[2][3] borrowed from Old French promoter,^[2][3] and directly from Latin prōmōtus, past participle of prōmovēre “to move forward, advance”,^[2][3][4] from prō “forward” and movēre “to move”,^[2][3][5] from Proto-Indo-European *meue- (“to push away”).^[2] It is related to move, motion and motive.^[3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

To advance a person to a higher rank or position: 1387 in the OED,^[6] before 1387 in Barnhart, in Trevisa's translation of Higden's Polychronicon.^[3]

Semantic evolution

To further the growth or progress of anything is from before 1400 in Barnhart^[3] and the early 15th century in Etymonline,^[2] 1515 in the OED.^[6] In late Middle and early Modern English the form promove, directly from the Latin verb, was also used, but it became obsolete in the 1600s.^[3][2] To support the passing of a law is from 1721.^[6] In chess, to raise a pawn to a piece is from 1803,^[6] and in football to move a team into a higher division from 1924.^[6] To publicize a product is a later sense.^[7][8] Promoter is from 1384,^[3] and promotion from before 1400.^[3]

Timeline

• 1384 – promoter.^[3]
• 1387 – to raise in rank.^[6][3]
• a. 1400 – to further.^[3]
• 1721 – to support a law.^[6]
• 1803 – in chess.^[6]
• 1924 – in sport.^[6]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To raise to a higher rank or position.
2. To help the progress or growth of; to encourage.
3. To publicize or try to sell a product, or to organize and finance an event.
4. To urge the adoption of; to advocate.
5. (sport) To move a team up to a higher division.

Word family

• promotability
• promotable
• promoter
• promotive

Related words

• move
• motion
• motive
• promotion

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
8. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins