promotor

Forms

prōmōtor m (genitive prōmōtōris); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin prōmoveō (“to move forward, advance”) with the agent suffix -tor.^[2][3][4] The DMLBS derives the medieval word from the past participle prōmōtus.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The oldest record is an inscription from Spain, placed by the TLL, with a question mark, at the end of the 1st century AD, which speaks of one who increases a town's legal rights.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

A liturgical fragment calls God the one who increases immortality.^[2] The word became common in medieval Latin: one who raises someone to an office, rank or university degree, one who furthers an affair or the cause of peace, and in law the one who prosecutes a case, as in a heresy case against a friar in 1425–1426; in Scotland it named a university finance officer.^[5] Du Cange also records it for a supporter or protector and for an official who investigates offences.^[6]

English took promoter in the late 14th century, partly from Old French and partly from Medieval Latin.^[7]

Timeline

• late 1st century AD – An inscription from Spain uses it of one who increases a town's rights.^[2]
• 1239 – Robert Grosseteste calls someone a promoter of peace.^[5]
• late 14th century – English borrows promoter, partly from Medieval Latin.^[7]
• 1403 – A letter of the people of Hamburg to Henry IV of England uses it for a supporter.^[6]
• 1425 – Promoters are appointed to prosecute a friar suspected of heresy.^[5]
• 1469 – It is used of those who confer university degrees.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. One who increases something.^[3][8][1][2]
2. (Medieval Latin) One who raises someone to a higher office, rank or degree.^[5]
3. (Medieval Latin) A promoter, one who furthers a business or cause; a supporter or protector.^[5][6]
4. (Medieval Latin, law) One who prosecutes a case.^[5][6]
5. (Medieval Latin) A university finance officer in Scotland; an officer of a guild.^[5]

Related words

• English promoter

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
3. ^ a b c Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
4. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c d du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
8. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.