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prolato

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word prolato

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
96–55 BC, Lucretius
Ultimate origin
Latin (ferō)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin profero
Latin prolato

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [proːˈɫaː.toː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [proˈlaː.to][1]

Forms

prōlātō (present infinitive prōlātāre, perfect active prōlātāvī, supine prōlātātum); first conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is a frequentative from Latin prōferō (“to bring forward; to extend; to defer”), made on its participle prōlātus.[2][3][4] The TLL compares gestō beside gerō.[3] The participle ⟨lātus⟩ belongs to tollō, and de Vaan traces it to Proto-Italic *tlāto- and Proto-Indo-European *tlh₂-to-.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The earliest citations are Lucretius, of an endless escape from the edge of the universe, and Cicero's speeches against Catiline, of an evil that cannot be suppressed by putting things off.[2]

Semantic evolution

It means to extend in space or lengthen: Tacitus has fields enlarged and Columella a villa.[4][2] Columella also uses it of developing farming in the long peace, and Tacitus of Messalina trying to prolong her life.[2] Of time it means to put off, defer or delay, as in Cicero.[2][4] Lewis & Short note it is not in Cicero in the first sense.[4]

Timeline

  • 96–55 BC – Lucretius of an endless escape.[2]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of putting things off.[2]
  • 1st century AD – Columella of enlarging a villa and developing farming.[2][4]
  • 98–115 AD – Tacitus of Messalina trying to prolong her life.[2]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To extend in space, lengthen, enlarge; to develop; to prolong.[2][4][1]
  2. To put off, postpone, defer;[2][4] (absolute) to procrastinate.[2][4]

Word family

  • prolatiuus

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University 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 Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
Cite this entry

“Prolato.” Etymologically, 20 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/prolato. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·