Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “Professor” come from?

Professor (English) comes from Anglo-Norman proffessur, 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 (English): The title for someone who holds the professor job

Definitions

  1. The title for someone who holds the professor job

Ancestry of “Professor”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Anglo-Normanproffessurone who professes
2Latinprofessorteacher, professor
3LatinprofiteorI declare publicly, own or confess openly,...
4Latinprō-—
5Proto-Italic*pro-—
6Proto-Indo-Europeanpro-toward, forward
7Proto-Indo-Europeanpor-to give birth; forward, through; going, passage
8Proto-Indo-Europeanper-before, in front; first; to go through
9Proto-Indo-Europeanpr̥tóspassed , crossed
Every word from Proto-Indo-European pr̥tós →