Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “progress” come from?

Progress comes from Middle English progresse, from Old French progres, from Latin progressus, the past participle of progredior meaning to go forward, from pro and a root meaning to go.

progress (English): Movement or advancement through a series of...

Definitions

  1. Movement or advancement through a series of...

Ancestry of “progress”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishprogresse—
2Old Frenchprogresa going forward
3Latinprōgressus—
4Latinprōgredior—
5Latinprō-—
6Proto-Italic*pro-—
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

Words derived from “progress”

  • progressing
  • progressist
  • progressor
  • antiprogress
  • nonprogress
  • unprogressing
  • nonprogressor
  • progresseth
  • progressless
  • progressible
Every word from Proto-Indo-European pr̥tós →