Etymology Explorer › English

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”

  • purposes
  • purposely
  • purposeful
  • purposefully
  • purposed
  • purposive
  • purposeless
  • multipurpose
  • purposiveness
  • purposefulness
  • purposively
  • purposelessness
  • repurpose
  • purposeth
  • purposelessly
  • apurpose
  • nonpurposive
  • unpurposed
  • purposer
  • purposest
  • unpurposeful
  • purposedly
  • unpurposive
  • multipurposed
Every word from Latin prōpōnere →