por

Forms

por- (prefix; assimilated to pol- before ⟨l⟩)^[1][2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *por-, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *pr- (“forth”).^[3] The OLD compares per.^[2]

Cognate with Faliscan por- in ⟨porded⟩, Umbrian pur- in ⟨pur-doui-⟩, Ancient Greek παρ (par, “further, beside”) (Ionic-Attic παρά (pará)), Gothic 𐍆𐌰𐌿𐍂 (faur) and Old Saxon for.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found only as a prefix of verbs, such as porrigō¹ and portendō, and with assimilation in polliceor.^[1][2][4] The related adverb porrō “straight on, forward” is attested from Plautus on, and as porod in an inscription from Praeneste.^[3]

Semantic evolution

In these verbs it gives the sense “forth” or “forward”.^[2][1]

Timeline

• c. 200 BC – Plautus uses the related adverb porrō.^[3][5]
• 6th century AD – Priscian explains the ending -por of slave names as a form of puer.^[6][5]

Meanings

Prefix

1. forth, forward, in verbs such as porrigō¹, portendō and polliceor.^[2][1][4]

Word family

• porrigō¹
• portendō
• polliceor

Related words

• per
• porrō

Usage notes

Another por is the old form of puer “boy, slave” that the grammarian Priscian saw in slave names such as Marcipor and Lucipor, “slave of Marcus, of Lucius”.^[4][6] A Late Latin preposition pōr “for”, seemingly a blend of prō and per, is attested in an imperial inscription from what is now Budapest and in another from Tunis; it is the ancestor of French pour.^[7]

References

1. ^ a b c d Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
2. ^ a b c d e Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
4. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
5. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org