Where does “pro quo” come from?
pro quo (Ido) comes from Spanish por qué, from Spanish por, from Old Spanish por, from Vulgar Latin por, from Latin prō, from Latin ratus, from Latin rēōr, from Proto-Italic rēōr — to fit, to fix, to put together.
pro quo (Ido): why, for what reason
Definitions
- why, for what reason
Ancestry of “pro quo”, step by step
pro quo traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.
via Spanish por qué
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spanish | por qué | why, for what reason |
| 2 | Spanish | por | by; for; through, out, via |
| 3 | Old Spanish | por | — |
| 4 | Vulgar Latin | por | for |
| 5 | Latin | prō | for |
| 6 | Latin | ratus | considered, having been considered; established,... |
| 7 | Latin | rēōr | to reckon, calculate |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | rēōr | to reckon, to calculate; to think, to deem, to... |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂reh₁- | to think, reason; to arrange |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂er- | to fit, to fix, to put together |
via French pourquoi
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | pourquoi | why |
| 2 | Middle French | parquoy | why |
| 3 | Old French | por quoi | why |
via Italian perché
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Italian | perché | because, why; so, so that, in order that; why |