Where does “profit” come from?
Profit comes from Middle English profit, from Old French profit, from Latin profectus (progress, advancement), derived from proficiscor (to set out), from proficio (to make progress), ultimately tracing to Proto-Indo-European -iskos through Latin -esco and -eo.
profit (English): Total income or cash flow minus expenditures. The...
Definitions
- Total income or cash flow minus expenditures. The...
Ancestry of “profit”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | profit | — |
| 2 | Old French | profit | — |
| 3 | Latin | profectus | advance, progress, effect, increase, growth,... |
| 4 | Latin | proficiscor | I set out, depart, leave |
| 5 | Latin | proficio | I advance, make progress, make headway; I... |
| 6 | Latin | faciō | to do |
| 7 | Latin | -torium | nominative neuter singular of -tōrius; accusative... |
| 8 | Latin | -tōrius | ory |
| 9 | Latin | -tor | -er |
| 10 | Proto-Italic | -tōr | Forms agent nouns to verb stems |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | -tōr | Derives agent nouns from verbs, denoting someone... |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | -tor-s | — |