Where does “prosaic” come from?
Prosaic derives from Middle French prosaïque, Medieval Latin prosaicus, Latin prosa meaning prose or straightforward speech, from Latin prorsus meaning direct or straightforward, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European per-.
prosaic (English): Pertaining to or having the characteristics of...
Definitions
- Pertaining to or having the characteristics of...
Ancestry of “prosaic”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle French | prosaïque | — |
| 2 | Medieval Latin | prosaicus | in prose |
| 3 | Latin | prōsa | prose |
| 4 | Latin | prorsus | straightforward, right onwards, straight, direct;... |
| 5 | Latin | prō | for |
| 6 | Latin | ratus | considered, having been considered; established,... |
| 7 | Latin | rēōr | to reckon, calculate |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | rēōr | to reckon, to calculate; to think, to deem, to... |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂reh₁- | to think, reason; to arrange |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂er- | to fit, to fix, to put together |