por-

Forms

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

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *por-, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *pr- (“forth”).^[3][4][1] De Vaan treats it as the regular Latin outcome of that form;^[3] the OLD compares per, and Georges pro.^[1][2]

Cognate with Faliscan por- (in ⟨porded⟩), Umbrian pur- (in ⟨purdouitu⟩) and Ancient Greek παρ (par, “further, beside”).^[3][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It occurs only in verbs,^[2] several of which de Vaan records from Plautus (c. 250–184 BC)^[6] on: polliceor “promise”, portendō “indicate, reveal” and pollingō.^[3]

Semantic evolution

It adds the sense “forth” or “forward”, as in porrigō¹ “stretch out”.^[1][2] Before ⟨l⟩ it is assimilated to ⟨pol-⟩, as in polliceor.^[2] De Vaan analyses polluō “soil” as a compound of the same prefix,^[3] and its first part is also seen in the adverb porrō “forward, further”.^[3]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus has the compounds pollicērī, portendere and pollingere.^[3][6]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses polluere, another compound with this prefix.^[3][6]

Meanings

Prefix

1. Forth, forward: forms verbs such as porrigō¹ and portendō.^[1][2][4]

Word family

• porrigō¹
• porriciō
• portendō
• polliceor
• pollingō
• polluō

Related words

• porrō
• prō
• per

References

1. ^ a b c d e Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
3. ^ a b c d e f g h 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 Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
5. ^ Pokorny, Julius (1959), Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Bern; Munich: Francke
6. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de