Where does “promise” come from?
Promise comes from Middle English promis, from Old French promesse, from Latin promissum, the past participle of promittere, formed from the prefix pro- and mitto meaning "to send."
promise (English): an oath or affirmation; a vow; a transaction...
Definitions
- an oath or affirmation; a vow; a transaction...
Ancestry of “promise”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | promis | — |
| 2 | Old French | promesse | promise |
| 3 | Medieval Latin | promissa | — |
| 4 | Latin | prōmissum | promise |
| 5 | Latin | promissus | promised |
| 6 | Latin | prōmittō | to send forth |
| 7 | Latin | prō | for |
| 8 | Latin | ratus | considered, having been considered; established,... |
| 9 | Latin | rēōr | to reckon, calculate |
| 10 | Proto-Italic | rēōr | to reckon, to calculate; to think, to deem, to... |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂reh₁- | to think, reason; to arrange |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂er- | to fit, to fix, to put together |