Where does “protest” come from?
Protest comes from Middle English protesten, from Old French protester, from Latin protestari meaning "to declare publicly," derived from Latin testis meaning "witness," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European bʰuH- meaning "to be" or "to appear."
protest (English): To make a strong objection; To affirm; To object...
Definitions
- To make a strong objection; To affirm; To object...
Ancestry of “protest”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | protesten | — |
| 2 | Old French | protester | — |
| 3 | Latin | prōtestārī | — |
| 4 | Latin | testor | I am witness, testify, attest; I make a will |
| 5 | Latin | testis | witness; one who testifies or attests; testicle |
| 6 | Latin | terstis | — |
| 7 | Latin | trīstis | sad, unhappy, melancholy, morose |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | tristh₂s | a third party standing, after the two parties to... |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | steh₂- | to stand |