Where does “professor” come from?
professor (Dutch) comes from Middle Dutch professoor, from Latin professor, from Latin profiteor, from Latin prō-, from Proto-Italic *pro-, from Proto-Indo-European pro-, from Proto-Indo-European por-, from Proto-Indo-European per- — passed , crossed.
professor (Dutch): professor
Definitions
- professor
Ancestry of “professor”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle Dutch | professoor | — |
| 2 | Latin | professor | teacher, professor |
| 3 | Latin | profiteor | I declare publicly, own or confess openly,... |
| 4 | Latin | prō- | forward direction, forward movement |
| 5 | Proto-Italic | *pro- | pro- see the Latin entry for further meanings |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | pro- | toward, forward |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | por- | to give birth; forward, through; going, passage |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | per- | before, in front; first; to go through |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | pr̥tós | passed , crossed |