profound English · revision 15143

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1300|origins=la fundus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /prəˈfaʊnd/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|fro|profond|t=deep]], also [[m|fro|profund]], and directly [[la|profundus|t=deep, bottomless, vast]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) from [[m|la|prō|t=forth, before]] and [[m|la|fundus|t=bottom]] (see [[bottom]] and [[fund]]).^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(NODE 1998)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Of a person, showing intellectual depth, very learned: about 1300 in Barnhart and Etymonline, about 1305 in the OED.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) The NODE also says the sense of deep insight came first.^(NODE 1998)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Latin used the word both literally and figuratively, but English, which already had [[deep]], used it mainly in the figurative sense,^(Etymonline) though in the 15th century it was used of deep lakes and wounds.^(Etymonline) Physical depth is recorded from about 1407,^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) deeply felt from about 1400,^(Etymonline) and intense or thorough, of a state or quality, from 1599.^(OED 1989) Of reverence or respect, often with the idea of bowing low, it is from 1526.^(OED 1989) A verb profound, to penetrate or fill, was used from the 15th to the 17th century.^(Etymonline) Profundity is probably from before 1425.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1300 – very learned.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1400 – deeply felt.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1407 – physically deep.^(OED 1989)

+ * before 1425 – profundity.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1526 – of reverence.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1599 – intense, thorough.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Penetrating deeply into subjects or ideas: ''a profound mind''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Showing or needing great knowledge or understanding.^(Collins 2023)

+ # Coming from the depths of one's being: ''profound regret''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Intense or absolute: ''profound silence''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Thoroughgoing; far-reaching: ''profound changes''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Situated at or extending to a great depth.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(literary, archaic)'' A great depth; an [[abyss]].^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[profoundly]]

+ * [[profoundness]]

+ * [[unprofound]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[profundity]]

+ * [[fund]]

+ * [[bottom]]

+ * [[found]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}