Where does “prow” come from?

Prow comes from Old French prou, from Italian prua, from Latin prora, ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European roots related to being or existing.

prow (English): The front part of a vessel; A vessel; Brave,...

Definitions

  1. The front part of a vessel; A vessel; Brave,...

Ancestry of “prow”, step by step

prow traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Old French prou

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchprouprofit
2Vulgar Latinprodeuseful; profitable, useful; second-person...
3LatinprosumI am useful or of use, do good, help, benefit,...
4Latinprō-forward direction, forward movement
5Proto-Italic*pro-pro- see the Latin entry for further meanings
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

via Middle French proue

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Frenchproue—
2Italianpruaprow, bow
3Latinprōraprow
4Ancient GreekπρῷραThe front part of a ship; bow, prow
5Proto-Hellenicprṓwařřa—

Words derived from “prow”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European pr̥tós →