Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “prolificacy” come from?

prolificacy (English) comes from English prolific, from French prolifique, from Latin prōlificus, from Latin prōlēs, from Latin prō-, from Proto-Italic *pro-, from Proto-Indo-European pro-, from Proto-Indo-European por- — passed , crossed.

prolificacy (English): Great fertility; Producing of a large number of...

Definitions

  1. Great fertility; Producing of a large number of...

Ancestry of “prolificacy”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishprolificFertile; producing offspring or fruit in...
2Frenchprolifiqueprolific
3Latinprōlificus—
4Latinprōlēs—
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
Every word from Proto-Indo-European pr̥tós →