Where does “not-for-profit” come from?
not-for-profit (English) comes from English for-profit, from English profit, from Middle English profit, from Old French profit, from Latin profectus, from Latin proficiscor, from Latin proficio, from Latin faciō.
not-for-profit (English): Providing goods or services, but not for the purpose of making a profit
Definitions
- Providing goods or services, but not for the purpose of making a profit
Ancestry of “not-for-profit”, step by step
not-for-profit traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English for-profit
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | for-profit | For the purpose of making money, especially in... |
| 2 | English | profit | Total income or cash flow minus expenditures. The... |
| 3 | Middle English | profit | — |
| 4 | Old French | profit | — |
| 5 | Latin | profectus | advance, progress, effect, increase, growth,... |
| 6 | Latin | proficiscor | I set out, depart, leave |
| 7 | Latin | proficio | I advance, make progress, make headway; I... |
| 8 | Latin | faciō | to do |
| 9 | Latin | -torium | nominative neuter singular of -tōrius; accusative... |
| 10 | Latin | -tōrius | ory |
| 11 | Latin | -tor | -er |
| 12 | Proto-Italic | -tōr | Forms agent nouns to verb stems |
| 13 | Proto-Indo-European | -tōr | Derives agent nouns from verbs, denoting someone... |
| 14 | Proto-Indo-European | -tor-s | — |
via English Not
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Not | — |
| 2 | Middle English | not | not; nothing, nought; nobody, no person |
| 3 | Middle English | nought | nothing, none; not; iniquitous, wicked |
| 4 | Old English | nōwiht | — |
| 5 | Old English | ne | not; or, and not; "ne... ne..." is used to mean "... |
| 6 | Old English | ealles | completely, wholly, entirely; totally,... |
| 7 | Old English | -es | possessive marker, indicating that an object... |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | -as | used in formation of adverbs |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -ēs | Primarily forms adjectival bahuvrīhi compounds |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | -ess | — |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | -os | Creates action nouns or result nouns from verbs;... |