Where does “prolific” come from?
Prolific comes from French prolifique, from Latin facere and facio, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European roots dʰeh₁-, bʰuH-, per-, and pr̥tós.
prolific (English): Fertile; producing offspring or fruit in...
Definitions
- Fertile; producing offspring or fruit in...
Ancestry of “prolific”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | prolifique | prolific |
| 2 | Latin | prōlificus | — |
| 3 | Latin | prōlēs | offspring, children, progeny, descendants, a line of descendants, family, race |
| 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 |