Etymologically
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promote

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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

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