prode

Forms

prode m or f by sense (plural prodi)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Late Latin prōde (“useful, profitable”), an invariable predicative adjective of Late Latin, recorded in the Itala.^[2][3][4] The Late Latin word was extracted from Latin prōdest (“it is useful”), the third person singular of prōsum (“to be useful, do good”), which speakers divided as prōde est, a form found in a Latin gloss.^[3][5][1] Devoto compared pote est beside potis est, and necesse (“necessary”).^[6] The Latin verb is a compound of sum (“to be”) with the prefix prōd-, the older form of prō (“for”).^[7][5]

The word belongs to Italy and the western Romance languages.^[3] The same word is Piedmontese prou, Old French prouz, Old Occitan pro, Catalan prou (“enough”) and Old Spanish pro (“excellent”).^[8][2] Old French prouz d'ome (“worthy man”) gave French prud'homme and, by back-formation, prude.^[8][2] The noun meaning “benefit, profit” is the same word used as a noun, and its shortened form survives as pro.^[2][9][10]

Earliest recorded meaning

GRADIT dates the word to 1193, in the sense “benefit, advantage”.^[10] The adjective “brave” is first recorded in the first half of the 13th century in Ugieri Apugliese: Umile sono ed orgoglioso, / prode, vile e coragioso (“I am humble and proud, brave, cowardly and courageous”).^[11][12]

Semantic evolution

In Old Italian the noun prode meant benefit or advantage, as when Dante, climbing with Virgil, hoped to prode acquistar ne le parole sue (“to gain profit from his words”).^[13][14] A Venetian text of 1297 has it for advantage, and one from Montalboddo of 1455 for interest on capital.^[3] Expressions such as esser prode and far prode meant “to be of use, do good”.^[9][15] This noun is now obsolete, and only the shortened pro survives.^[9][7]

The adjective meant valiant in arms and also, in Guittone's letters, good and honest.^[14] Old Italian prod'uomo “worthy man” came from French prud'homme through Provençal, and Boccaccio writes of two men that each era prod'uomo molto nell'arme (“was a very valiant man in arms”).^[9] The derivative prodezza appears before 1243 for the quality of a brave man and in the 14th century for a brave deed; from 1742 it could also be a reckless or boastful act.^[11] Today prode is a literary word, higher in register than valoroso, and is common as a plural noun, as in Foscolo's tombe a' suoi prodi (“tombs to her brave men”).^[7][9]

Timeline

• 1193 – Prode is first recorded, in the sense “benefit, advantage”.^[10]
• First half of the 13th century – Ugieri Apugliese uses the adjective prode “brave”.^[11]
• Before 1243 – Prodeça “bravery” appears in Guido Faba.^[11]
• 1297 – The noun is recorded at Venice for advantage.^[3]
• 1455 – At Montalboddo the noun means interest on capital.^[3]
• Before 1742 – G. B. Fagiuoli uses prodezza for a reckless or boastful act.^[11]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (literary) brave, valiant, showing courage, especially in battle: un prode soldato.^{[10][15][7][16]}

Noun

1. (literary) A brave person, a hero; mostly in the plural: i prodi caduti in guerra.^{[10][5][16][7]}
2. (obsolete) benefit, advantage; interest on capital.^[10][15][9]

Word family

• prodezza
• prodemente

Related words

• pro
• Latin prōsum
• French preux
• French prud'homme

Usage notes

Prode is also the plural of proda, the bank or edge of a stretch of water, a word of different origin.^[1][10] Before a word starting with a consonant the adjective was once cut to pro’ (with an apostrophe).^[7][1] Avanti, miei prodi! (“Forward, my brave men!”) is a set rallying cry.^[16][5]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
3. ^ a b c d e f Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3092
4. ^ Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
5. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
6. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
7. ^ a b c d e f Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
8. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
9. ^ a b c d e f Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
10. ^ a b c d e f g De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
11. ^ a b c d e Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
12. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 14, 463
13. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 14, 464
14. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
15. ^ a b c Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
16. ^ a b c Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana