Where does “prosecutorial” come from?
Prosecutorial comes from English prosecutor, derived from Latin prosequor meaning to pursue, from Latin sequor meaning to follow, with the prefix pro- from Proto-Indo-European pro- and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European per- meaning to go through.
prosecutorial (English): Relating to prosecuting of criminal cases
Definitions
- Relating to prosecuting of criminal cases
Ancestry of “prosecutorial”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | prosecutor | a prosecuting attorney; a person, as a... |
| 2 | Medieval Latin | prosecutor | — |
| 3 | Latin | prōsequor | to escort, accompany |
| 4 | Latin | prō- | forward direction, forward movement |
| 5 | Proto-Italic | *pro- | pro- see the Latin entry for further meanings |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | pro- | toward, forward |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | por- | to give birth; forward, through; going, passage |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | per- | before, in front; first; to go through |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | pr̥tós | passed , crossed |