Where does “professable” come from?
professable (English) comes from English profess, from Latin professus, 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.
professable (English): That can be professed
Definitions
- That can be professed
Ancestry of “professable”, step by step
professable traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English profess
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | profess | To administer the vows of a religious order to (someone); to admit to a religious order |
| 2 | Latin | professus | confessed, acknowledged, avowed, professed,... |
| 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 |
via English able
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | able | Easy to use; Suitable; competent; Liable to |
| 2 | Middle English | able | capable, expert, qualified, skilful, competent |
| 3 | Old French | able | able; capable |
| 4 | Latin | habilis | able to have/possess/maintain; having sufficient... |
| 5 | Latin | -ilis | -ile |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | -elis | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -elis | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -lós | Forms agent nouns from verbal roots |