pro

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin prō (“for, on behalf of”), properly “in front of”, taken over as a learned word.^[2][1][3][4] The popular outcome of the Latin preposition is French pour, Spanish por and Portuguese por,^[2][5] and Logudorese pro keeps its form.^[4] DEI and the REW explain the Spanish and Portuguese ⟨r⟩ by the influence of per.^[4][5]

The Latin word continues Proto-Italic *prō and Proto-Indo-European *pro (“in front of, before”), whose reflexes include Ancient Greek πρό (pró, “before, forward”) and Oscan pru.^[6][2] The long vowel may come from an instrumental form in a laryngeal beside the plain one, as Beekes and Schrijver assume.^[6][1] Latin also had a form ⟨prōd-⟩ before vowels, as in prōdesse (“to be useful”).^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

GRADIT dates the preposition to about 1050, Devoto–Oli and Zingarelli to 1065, Nocentini to the 11th century.^[7][8][3][2] DEI notes that pro “for” is very common in Iacopone da Todi.^[4]

Semantic evolution

The pair pro e contra is recorded in Francesco da Barberino in the 14th century, and the noun il pro e il contro in Bartoli in the 17th.^[4] In modern Italian the preposition is used mainly before contro, in Latin phrases such as pro forma, pro tempore and pro capite, and in the names of charitable, cultural and civic bodies (Pro loco, Pro patria), a pattern that keeps producing new names.^[9][10][7]

Timeline

• About 1050 – First record according to GRADIT.^[7]
• 1065 – First record according to Devoto–Oli and Zingarelli.^[8][3]
• 14th century – Pro e contra in Francesco da Barberino.^[4]
• 17th century – Il pro e il contro in Bartoli.^[4]

Meanings

Preposition

1. for, in favour of, for the benefit of: una raccolta di fondi pro ospedale;^[7][8][3] pro o contro, for or against.^[7][8][3]
2. In the names of charitable or cultural bodies (Pro loco) and in Latin phrases such as pro forma and pro tempore.^[7][11][10]

Noun

1. The favourable side of a situation or choice: il pro e il contro, i pro e i contro, the pros and cons.^[7][3][11]

Related words

• prode
• per
• Latin pro

Usage notes

Pro “benefit, advantage” (first half of the 13th century) is the apocopated form of the old noun prode, from Late Latin prōde, drawn from prōdest (“it is useful”).^[7][2][8] It survives in set phrases: a che pro? “to what end?”, buon pro ti faccia! “much good may it do you!”, fare pro “to do good”, and Dante's sanza pro “in vain”.^[8][3][9]

In sports language pro (1984) is short for professionista, a professional;^[3][1] Wiktionary treats it as borrowed from English pro.^[3][1] The word is pronounced /prɔ/ and causes doubling of the following consonant.^[9][1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
4. ^ a b c d e f g Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3086
5. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
6. ^ a b c de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
7. ^ a b c d e f g h De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
8. ^ a b c d e f Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
9. ^ a b c Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
10. ^ a b Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
11. ^ a b Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana