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expromo

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word expromo

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 250–184 BC, Plautus
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*h₁em-e/o-)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin promo
Latin depromo
Latin expromo

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ɛkˈsproː.moː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ekˈsprɔː.mo][1]

Forms

exprōmō (present infinitive exprōmere, perfect active exprōmpsī, supine exprōmptum); third conjugation[1] The perfect is also spelled exprōmsī, and the supine exprōmtum.[2][3]

Etymology

It is from Latin ex- (“out”) + prōmō (“to bring out”).[4][3][1] De Vaan derives prōmō from emō in its older sense to take, which goes back to Proto-Italic *eme/o- (“to take”) and Proto-Indo-European *h₁em-e/o- (“to take”).[5] Cognate with Oscan emmens (“they have bought”) and Lithuanian im̃ti (“to take”).[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan lists it among Plautine compounds of emō;[5] in the Miles Gloriosus a slave says he has drawn out eight measures of wine into a jug.[4]

Semantic evolution

Its literal sense, to take out of a store, is rare;[4][2] Virgil uses it of uttering sad words and Catullus of the mind bringing forth the offspring of the Muses.[4][2] More often it is figurative: to bring into play or display, as Plautus' “show your kind nature”, and to disclose or reveal, as his exposure of the injustice of pimps.[4][2] Lewis & Short give proferre as its synonym.[2] Church Latin glosses it to draw out, exhibit, display, state.[6]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus of drawing out wine and of revealing injustice.[4][7]
  • 81/79–52/50 BC – Catullus of uttering poetry.[4][7]
  • 70–19 BC – Virgil of uttering sad words.[2][7]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To bring out from a store, take out; to give expression to.[4][2][1]
  2. To bring into play, put to use; to display, exhibit.[4][2][1]
  3. To disclose, reveal, declare.[4][2][1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  3. ^ a b Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ 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
  6. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  7. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Expromo.” Etymologically, 19 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/expromo. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·