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prosecute

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Etymology and origin of the English word prosecute

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
c. 1425 translation of Higden's Polychronicon
Borrowed from
Latin prosecutus via Middle English
Ultimate origin
Latin sequor

Pronunciation

  • /ˈpɹɒsɪkjuːt/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English prosecuten,[2][3][4] borrowed from Latin prōsecūtus, the past participle of prōsequor (“to follow after, accompany; to chase, pursue”),[5][6][7][2] which is formed from prō- (“forward”) and sequor (“to follow”),[5][3][8][9] from Proto-Indo-European *sekʷ- (“to follow”).[5][3] The OED notes that post-classical Latin used the verb for pursuing a lawsuit from the 4th century, and compares Middle French prosecuter (“to look for eagerly”), recorded about 1370.[6] In Old French the Latin verb became Old French prosequer, popularly porsuir, the source of pursue, so that the two English verbs are doublets.[5][10] The same Latin verb is the source of sequel and sequence.[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

To carry out or follow up an action or intention: the first record is in a Middle English translation of Higden's Polychronicon, written probably before 1425 and surviving in a manuscript of before 1475.[6][2][7] Etymonline dates it to the early 15th century.[5]

Semantic evolution

As Ayto puts it, to prosecute someone is etymologically to pursue them.[8] The first sense, to follow a course of action through to its end, is still current ("to prosecute a war"),[6][4] and in the 16th century the verb was also used for carrying on a trade or pursuit (1567), now archaic, for setting something out in detail (about 1520 to 1873), for avenging a wrong (1543–1682) and for chasing a fleeing person or animal (1549–1766).[6] Johnson (1755) still gave "to pursue; to continue endeavours after any thing" as the first sense.[11] The legal use begins with instituting an action in court in 1535,[6] and the sense of bringing a person to trial for an offence is recorded from 1579,[6][7] or from the 1570s in Etymonline;[5] Ayto dates the legal application to the late 16th century.[8] The intransitive use, to act as prosecutor, follows in 1611, in Ben Jonson's Catiline.[6]

Timeline

  • before 1425 – to carry out, follow up (in a translation of Higden).[6][2][7]
  • 1528 – intransitive, to go on, bring to completion (obsolete by 1716).[6]
  • 1535 – to institute a legal action or claim.[6]
  • 1543 – to avenge a wrong (obsolete by 1682).[6]
  • 1549 – to chase, pursue (obsolete by 1766).[6]
  • 1567 – to carry on a trade or pursuit (now archaic).[6]
  • 1579 – to bring legal proceedings against a person.[6][7]
  • 1611 – intransitive, to conduct a prosecution.[6]
  • 1656 – to bring legal proceedings for a crime.[6]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To bring a criminal charge against someone in a court of law: The firm was prosecuted for dumping waste in the river.[12][6]
  2. To institute or conduct legal proceedings; to act as prosecutor in a case.[12][6]
  3. To pursue a course of action to its end: The general was told to prosecute the campaign without delay.[4][12][6]
  4. To carry on or practise a trade or activity.[4][12][6]

Word family

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d 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 Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  8. ^ a b c d Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
  9. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  10. ^ Skeat, Walter W. (1911), A Concise Etymological Dictionary of the English Language, new ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  11. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  12. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Prosecute.” Etymologically, 31 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/prosecute. Accessed 31 Oct. 2026.

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