Where does “purpose” come from?

Purpose descends from Middle English purposen, from Old French purposer, from Latin pono meaning "to place," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European roots pro-, bʰuH-, per-, and pr̥tós.

purpose (English): An objective to be reached; a target; an aim; a...

Definitions

  1. An objective to be reached; a target; an aim; a...

Ancestry of “purpose”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishpurposen
2Old Frenchpurposerto propose; to make a proposition
3Latinprōpōnere

Words derived from “purpose

Every word from Latin prōpōnere