Etymologically
Log in

prosper

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 31 October 2026 at 15:25. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˈpɹɒspə(ɹ)/[1]
  • US: /ˈpɹɑspɚ/, /ˈpɹɒspɚ/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English prosperen,[2][3][4] borrowed from Anglo-Norman prosperer and Middle French prosperer,[5][6] and directly borrowed from Latin prosperō (“to cause to succeed, render happy”),[5][3][4][2] from prosperus (“favourable, fortunate, prosperous”).[3][4][7][8] The Anglo-Norman verb is recorded from the 1360s and 1370s, meaning both to foster and to prosper.[6] The Latin adjective is the source of próspero and prospero.[3][5] Its origin is uncertain.[5] It has traditionally been explained from an Old Latin phrase meaning "according to hope", from prō (“for, according to”) and the ablative of spēs (“hope”),[3][9][4] but Barnhart notes that the short e of prosperus does not match the long ē of spēs, so the link may be only a folk etymology.[4] Etymonline gives as an alternative Proto-Italic *pro-sparo-, from a root also seen in Old English spōwan (“to prosper”), which is related to speed.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of a person or a community, to do well, thrive, be successful: about 1350, in a Middle English prose Psalter, "Ne wil þou nouȝt folwen in him þat prosperet in his waie".[5][2] Barnhart dates the verb to 1350,[4] and the Shorter Oxford and Hoad to the 15th century.[8][10]

Semantic evolution

From 1434 the verb was used of things, such as an enterprise, that flourish or turn out well,[5][2] and in Coverdale's Bible (1535) it was used of plants that thrive.[5] The transitive sense, to make someone or something prosper, is recorded from the 1520s[5][3] and is now rare.[5] Johnson (1755) gave both, the active "to make happy; to favour", with Shakespeare's "Kind gods, forgive me that, and prosper him", and the neuter "to be prosperous; to thrive".[11] The adjective prosper, prosperous, was borrowed in the same years from Anglo-Norman prospre and Latin, and lasted from about 1350 to 1600.[5] In modern use the verb often means especially to grow wealthy.[9]

Timeline

  • c. 1350 – to be prosperous, to thrive; also the adjective prosper (obsolete by 1600).[5][2]
  • 1434 – of a thing, to flourish or turn out well.[5][2]
  • before 1525 – transitive, to cause to prosper.[5]
  • 1535 – of a plant, to thrive.[5]
  • 1755 – Johnson defines both the active and the neuter verb.[11]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To do well; to succeed or thrive: The village prospered after the railway arrived.[12][9][5]
  2. Especially, to become wealthy or financially successful.[9]
  3. Of a plan or undertaking, to turn out well.[9][5]
  4. Of a plant, to grow strongly; to flourish.[5][11]
  5. (now rare) To make successful; to favour: May heaven prosper your voyage.[5][12][11]

Word family

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f 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 d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
  7. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  8. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  9. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  10. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  11. ^ a b c d 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 Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins