Where does “professorless” come from?

professorless (English) comes from English Professor, 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- — passed , crossed.

professorless (English): Without a professor or professors

Definitions

  1. Without a professor or professors

Ancestry of “professorless”, step by step

professorless traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English Professor

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishProfessorThe title for someone who holds the professor job
2Anglo-Normanproffessurone who professes
3Latinprofessorteacher, professor
4LatinprofiteorI declare publicly, own or confess openly,...
5Latinprō-forward direction, forward movement
6Proto-Italic*pro-pro- see the Latin entry for further meanings
7Proto-Indo-Europeanpro-toward, forward
8Proto-Indo-Europeanpor-to give birth; forward, through; going, passage
9Proto-Indo-Europeanper-before, in front; first; to go through
10Proto-Indo-Europeanpr̥tóspassed , crossed

via English less

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishlessTo a smaller extent or degree; comparative form...
2Middle Englishlesfalse; lying; deceptive; falsehood; a lie
3Old Englishlēasfalse, lax; false, void, loose; devoid of, loose...
4Proto-Germanic*laus
Every word from Proto-Indo-European pr̥tósEvery word from Proto-Indo-European per-Every word from Proto-Indo-European por-