- Confidence
- Established
- Formation
- Derivation
- First attested
- Varro
- Ultimate origin
- Latin (pōnō)
Pronunciation
Forms
prōpōnō (present infinitive prōpōnere, perfect active prōposuī or prōposīvī, supine prōpositum or prōpostum); third conjugation[1]
Etymology
It is from prō- “forth” and pōnō “to put, place”.[2][1][3]
Earliest recorded meaning
The OLD's earliest citations are from Varro, of posting up a notice and of placing before.[2] Köbler dates Varro 116–27 BC.[4]
Semantic evolution
It meant to put forth, display, as Caesar's vēxillum prōpōnere “to hoist the flag”, to put up for sale, and to post up a notice or a law, so to publish an edict.[2][5] It meant to place before, hold up to the mind, picture to oneself, as Cicero's ante oculōs prōpōnere, to hold up as a model, to offer, propose, and to hold out a reward or a threat.[2] It meant to set out, state, in logic to state a major premiss, in rhetoric to state the facts of a case, and to set before oneself as a plan, so that mihi prōpositum est meant “my intention is”.[2]
In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant to set before, propose, determine, display, resolve.[6] Old French proposer gave English propose in the mid-14th century, and Middle English proponen gave English propone and English propound; English purpose comes from the related Old French porposer.[7]
Timeline
- 116–27 BC – Varro uses it of posting up.[2][4]
- 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of picturing and proposing.[2][4]
- c. 50 BC – Caesar uses it of hoisting a flag.[5][4]
- mid-14th century – English propose is recorded.[7]
Meanings
Verb
- To display, expose; to put up for sale.[2]
- To post up, publish.[2]
- To place before.[2]
- To bring to mind, picture; to hold up as a model.[2]
- To offer; to propose.[2]
- To hold out a reward or threat.[2]
- To state, (logic) to state a premiss.[2]
- To intend, purpose.[2]
Word family
- prōpositiō
- prōpositīuus
Related words
References
- ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
- ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
- ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
- ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
- ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
Cite this entry
“Propono.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/propono. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.
Last edited on . ·