Where does “prom” come from?
Prom is a shortening of English promenade, from French promenade, ultimately from Latin -atus and Proto-Indo-European pro- and bʰuH-, relating to moving forward.
prom (English): a promenade concert; promenade; a formal ball...
Definitions
- a promenade concert; promenade; a formal ball...
Ancestry of “prom”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | promenade | A prom; A walk taken for pleasure, display, or... |
| 2 | French | promenade | walk; stroll |
| 3 | French | promener | to walk (leisurely), to go for a walk, to stroll |
| 4 | Middle French | pourmener | to walk |
| 5 | Old French | pormener | to walk |
| 6 | Old French | por | for |
| 7 | Late Latin | pōr | — |
| 8 | Latin | prō | for |
| 9 | Latin | ratus | considered, having been considered; established,... |
| 10 | Latin | rēōr | to reckon, calculate |
| 11 | Proto-Italic | rēōr | to reckon, to calculate; to think, to deem, to... |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂reh₁- | to think, reason; to arrange |
| 13 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂er- | to fit, to fix, to put together |