Where does “prove” come from?

Prove comes from Old French prover, from Latin probare meaning "to assent to" or "to approve," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European bʰuH-.

prove (English): To demonstrate that something is true or viable;...

Definitions

  1. To demonstrate that something is true or viable;...

Ancestry of “prove”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishproven—
2Old Frenchproverto prove
3Latinprobāre—
4Latinprobōto approve, permit, commend
5LatinProbusgood, serviceable, excellent, superior, able
6Proto-Indo-Europeanpro-bhwo-being in front, prominent
7Proto-Indo-Europeanpro-toward, forward
8Proto-Indo-Europeanpor-to give birth; forward, through; going, passage
9Proto-Indo-Europeanper-before, in front; first; to go through
10Proto-Indo-Europeanpr̥tóspassed , crossed

Words derived from “prove”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European pr̥tós →