Etymologically
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prosperity

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 17 October 2026 at 14:38. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /prɒˈsper.ə.ti/, US /prɑːˈsper.ə.t̬i/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English prosperite, borrowed from Old French prosperité and directly Latin prosperitās (“good fortune”),[2][3][4] from prosperus (“favourable, doing well”) (see prosper).[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

A flourishing condition, good fortune, wealth: about 1200 in Etymonline, before 1225 in the OED.[2][5]

Semantic evolution

Prosperities, prosperous circumstances, are recorded from 1340.[5]

Timeline

  • c. 1200 – prosperity.[2]
  • 1340 – prosperities.[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The condition of being prosperous; success or wealth.
  • prosper
  • prosperous

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 Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press