Where does “profess” come from?

Profess comes from Old French professer, meaning to declare or avow publicly.

profess (English): To administer the vows of a religious order to (someone); to admit to a religious order

Definitions

  1. To administer the vows of a religious order to (someone); to admit to a religious order

Ancestry of “profess”, step by step

profess traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Latin professus

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinprofessusconfessed, acknowledged, avowed, professed,...
2LatinprofiteorI declare publicly, own or confess openly,...
3Latinprō-forward direction, forward movement
4Proto-Italic*pro-pro- see the Latin entry for further meanings
5Proto-Indo-Europeanpro-toward, forward
6Proto-Indo-Europeanpor-to give birth; forward, through; going, passage
7Proto-Indo-Europeanper-before, in front; first; to go through
8Proto-Indo-Europeanpr̥tóspassed , crossed

via Old French professer

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchprofesserto strive for; to aspire to; to profess
2Latinprofitērī—

Words derived from “profess”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European pr̥tós →