Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “proportion” come from?

Proportion comes from Middle English proporcion, from Old French proportion, from Latin proportio, ultimately derived from the Proto-Indo-European root bʰuH- meaning to grow or increase.

proportion (English): A quantity of something that is part of the whole...

Definitions

  1. A quantity of something that is part of the whole...

Ancestry of “proportion”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishproporcion—
2Old Frenchproportion—
3Latinprōportiō—
4Latinprō-—
5Proto-Italic*pro-—
6Proto-Indo-Europeanpro-toward, forward
7Proto-Indo-Europeanpor-to give birth; forward, through; going, passage
8Proto-Indo-Europeanper-before, in front; first; to go through
9Proto-Indo-Europeanpr̥tóspassed , crossed

Words derived from “proportion”

  • disproportion
  • proportionably
  • proportionable
  • disproportionably
  • proportionment
  • misproportion
  • proportioner
  • disproportionable
  • proportionless
  • unproportionable
  • overproportion
  • disproportionableness
  • reproportion
  • proportionableness
  • superproportion
  • unproportionableness
  • improportionable
Every word from Proto-Indo-European pr̥tós →