Where does “prude” come from?
Prude derives from French prude, from Old French prude meaning "prudent woman," from Old French prou meaning "profit or advantage," from Late Latin prode, from Latin prosum meaning "to be of use," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European h₁ésmi meaning "to be."
prude (English): A person who is or tries to be excessively...
Definitions
- A person who is or tries to be excessively...
Ancestry of “prude”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | prude | prude |
| 2 | Old French | prude | feminine singular of pruz |
| 3 | Old French | prou | profit |
| 4 | Vulgar Latin | prode | useful; profitable, useful; second-person... |
| 5 | Latin | prosum | I am useful or of use, do good, help, benefit,... |
| 6 | Latin | prō- | forward direction, forward movement |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | *pro- | pro- see the Latin entry for further meanings |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | pro- | toward, forward |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | por- | to give birth; forward, through; going, passage |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | per- | before, in front; first; to go through |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | pr̥tós | passed , crossed |