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
- Movement or advancement through a series of...
Ancestry of “progress”, step by step
progress traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Middle English progresse
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | progresse | — |
| 2 | Old French | progres | a going forward |
| 3 | Latin | prōgressus | having advanced, proceeded |
| 4 | Latin | prōgredior | to come, go, or march forth, forward or on; advance, proceed |
| 5 | Latin | prō- | forward direction, forward movement |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | *pro- | pro- see the Latin entry for further meanings |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | pro- | toward, forward |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | por- | to give birth; forward, through; going, passage |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | per- | before, in front; first; to go through |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | pr̥tós | passed , crossed |
via Russian прогре́сс
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Russian | прогре́сс | progress (a moving forward) |