Online Etymology Dictionary

promoter (n.): late 14c., "one who promotes" (the interest of someone), "supporter," agent noun from promote, and also from Old French promoteur and directly from Medieval Latin promotor. Specific financial sense of "one who leads in forming a company" is from 1876; sense of "one who organizes sporting or entertainment events" is attested from 1936.
promotion (n.): c.1400, "advancement in rank or position," from Old French promocion "election, promotion" (14c., Modern French promotion) and directly from Latin promotionem (nominative promotio) "a moving forward," noun of action from past participle stem of promovere (see promote). Meaning "advertising, publicity" first recorded 1925.
promotional (adj.): 1869, "relating to promotion or advancement," from promotion + -al (1). From 1902 as "relating to advertising."
prompt (v.): mid-14c., prompten, from Latin promptus, past participle of promere "to bring forth," from pro- "forward" (see pro-) + emere "to take" (see exempt (adj.)). Theatrical sense of "to assist a speaker with lines" is first recorded early 15c. Related: Prompted; prompting.
prompt (n.): early 15c., "readiness," from Latin promptus (see prompt (v.)). Meaning "hint, act of prompting" is from 1590s. Computer sense attested by 1977.
prompt (adj.): early 15c., from Old French prompt and directly from Latin promptus "brought forth," hence "visible, apparent, evident," past participle of promere "to take or bring out or forth" (see prompt (v.)).Related: Promptly; promptitude.
prompter (n.): 1540s, agent noun from prompt (v.)). Earlier was promptator (mid-15c.).
promptness (n.): 1520s, from prompt (adj.) + -ness.
promulgate (v.): 1520s, from Latin promulgatus, past participle of promulgare "make publicly known, propose openly, publish," perhaps altered from provulgare, from pro- "forth" (see pro-) + vulgare "make public, publish." Or the second element might be from mulgere "to milk" (see milk (n.)), used metaphorically for "cause to emerge." Related: Promulgated; promulgating. The earlier verb in English was promulge (late 15c.).
promulgation (n.): c.1600, from Middle French promulgation (14c.), from Latin promulgationem (nominative promulgatio) "a public announcement," noun of action from past participle stem of promulgare (see promulgate).
pronate: 1848 (adj.); 1819 (v.), from Late Latin pronatus, past participle of pronare "to bend forward," from pronus "prone" (see prone). Related: Pronated; pronating.
pronation (n.): 1660s, from French pronation, from Medieval Latin pronationem (nominative pronatio), noun of action from past participle stem of Late Latin pronare (see pronate).
prone (adj.): c.1400, "naturally inclined to something, apt, liable," from Latin pronus "bent forward, leaning forward, bent over," figuratively "inclined to, disposed," perhaps from adverbial form of pro- "before, for, instead of" (see pro-) + ending as in infernus, externus. Meaning "lying face-down" is first recorded 1570s. Literal and figurative senses both were in Latin; figurative is older in English. Related: Proneness.
prong (n.): early 15c., prange "pointed instrument;" mid-15c., pronge "pain," from Anglo-Latin pronga "prong, pointed tool," of unknown origin, perhaps related to Middle Low German prange "stick, restraining device," prangen "to press, pinch." See also prod, which might be related. Prong-horned antelope is from 1815 (short form pronghorn attested from 1826).
pronomial (adj.): 1670s, from Late Latin pronomialis (Priscian) "pertaining to a pronoun," from Latin pronomen (see pronoun). As a noun from 1871.
pronoun (n.): mid-15c., from pro- and noun; modeled on Middle French pronom, from Latin pronomen, from pro- "in place of" + nomen "name, noun" (see name (n.)). A loan-translation of Greek antonymia.
pronounce (v.): early 14c., "to declare officially;" late 14c., "to speak, utter," from Old French prononcier "declare, speak out, pronounce" (late 13c., Modern French prononcer), from Late Latin pronunciare, from Latin pronuntiare "to proclaim, announce; pronounce, utter," from pro- "forth, out, in public" (see pro-) + nuntiare "announce," from nuntius "messenger" (see nuncio). With reference to the mode of sounding words or languages, it is attested from 1620s (but cf. pronunciation in this sense early 15c.). Related: Pronounced; pronouncing.
pronounced (adj.): "spoken," 1570s, past participle adjective from pronounce (v.). Sense of "emphatic" is a figurative meaning first attested c.1730.
pronouncement (n.): 1590s, from pronounce + -ment.
pronto (adv.): 1850, from Spanish pronto, perhaps influenced by Italian pronto (borrowed by English 1740), both from Latin promptus (see prompt).
pronunciation (n.): early 15c., "mode in which a word is pronounced," from Middle French prononciation and directly from Latin pronuntiationem (nominative pronuntiatio) "act of speaking, utterance, delivery," also "proclamation, public declaration," noun of action from past participle stem of pronuntiare "announce" (see pronounce).
proof (n.): early 13c., preove "evidence to establish the fact of (something)," from Anglo-French preove, Old French prueve "proof, test, experience" (13c., Modern French preuve), from Late Latin proba "a proof," a back-formation from Latin probare "to prove" (see prove). "The devocalization of v to f ensued upon the loss of final e; cf. the relation of v and f in believe, belief, relieve, relief, behove, behoof, etc. [OED].

Meaning "act of proving" is early 14c. Meaning "act of testing or making trial of anything" is from late 14c., from influence of prove. Meaning "standard of strength of distilled liquor" is from 1705. In photography from 1855. Typographical sense of "trial impression to test type" is from c.1600. Numismatic sense of "coin struck to test a die" is from 1762; now mostly in reference to coins struck from highly polished dies, mainly for collectors.

Adjectival sense (proof against) is recorded from 1590s, from the noun in expressions such as proof of (mid-15c.), hence extended senses involving "tested power" in compounds such as fireproof (1630s), waterproof (1725), foolproof (1902), etc.
proof (v.): 1834, "to test," from proof (n.). From 1950 as short for proofread (v.). Related: Proofed; proofing.
proofread (v.): also proof-read, 1878, back-formation from proofreader. Related: Proofread; Proofreading.
proofreader (n.): also proof-reader, 1808, from proof (n.) in the typographical sense + reader.
prop (v.): "to support," mid-15c., probably from prop (n.1) or a related verb in Dutch. Related: Propped; propping.
prop (n.1): "support," mid-15c., from Middle Dutch proppe "vine prop, support," of unknown origin. Probably related to Old High German pfropfo, German pfropfen "to prop," perhaps from Latin propago "a set, layer of a plant" (see propagation). Irish propa, Gaelic prop are from English.
prop (n.2): "object used in a play," 1898, from props (1841), shortened form of properties (which was in theatrical use from early 15c.). Props as slang shortening for proper respects (or something similar) appeared c.1999.
prop (n.3): short for propeller, 1914.
propaedeutic (n.): 1798, from Greek propaideuein "to teach beforehand," from pro- (see pro-) + paideuein "to teach," which is related to the root of pedagogue. From 1849 as an adjective.
propaganda (n.): 1718, "committee of cardinals in charge of Catholic missionary work," short for Congregatio de Propaganda Fide "congregation for propagating the faith," a committee of cardinals established 1622 by Gregory XV to supervise foreign missions. The word is properly the ablative fem. gerundive of Latin propagare (see propagation). Hence, "any movement to propagate some practice or ideology" (1790). Modern political sense dates from World War I, not originally pejorative. Meaning "material or information propagated to advance a cause, etc." is from 1929.
propagandist (n.): 1797, from propaganda + -ist. Related: Propagandistic.
propagandize (v.): 1841, from propaganda + -ize. Related: Propagandized; propagandizing.
propagate (v.): 1560s, "to cause to multiply," from Latin propagatus, past participle of propagare "to set forward, extend, procreate" (see propagation). Intransitive sense "reproduce one's kind" is from c.1600. Related: Propagated; propagating.
propagation (n.): mid-15c., from Old French propagacion "offshoot, offspring" (13c.) and directly from Latin propagationem (nominative propagatio) "a propagation, extension, enlargement," noun of action from past participle stem of propagare "set forward, extend, spread, increase; multiply plants by layers, breed," from propago (genitive propaginis) "that which propagates, offspring," from pro- "forth" (see pro-) + *pag-, root of pangere "to fasten" (see pact).
propane (n.): "colorless gas occurring in petroleum," 1866, with chemical suffix -ane + prop(ionic acid) (1850), from French propionique (1847), from Greek pro "forward" (see pro-) + pion "fat" (see fat (adj.)), in reference to its being first in order of the fatty acids.
propel (v.): mid-15c., "to drive away, expel," from Latin propellere "push forward, drive forward, drive forth; move, impel," from pro- "forward" (see pro-) + pellere "to push, drive" (see pulse (n.1)). Meaning "to drive onward, cause to move forward" is from 1650s. Related: Propelled; propelling.
propellant (n.): less-etymological, but more usual, spelling of propellent; 1881 as a firearm explosive; 1919 as "fuel for a rocket engine."
propellent (adj.): 1640s, from propel + -ent. As a noun from 1814.
propeller (n.): 1780, "anything that propels," agent noun from propel. In mechanical sense, 1809, of ships; of flying machines (in a broad, theoretical sense) 1842, in the specific modern sense 1853.
propensity (n.): 1560s, "disposition to favor," with -ty + obsolete adjective propense "inclined, prone" (1520s), from Latin propensus, past participle of propendere "incline to, hang forward, hang down, weigh over," from pro- "forward" (see pro-) + pendere "hang" (see pendant).
proper (adj.): c.1300, "adapted to some purpose, fit, apt; commendable, excellent" (sometimes ironic), from Old French propre "own, particular; exact, neat, fitting, appropriate" (11c.), from Latin proprius "one's own, particular to itself," from pro privo "for the individual, in particular," from ablative of privus "one's own, individual" (see private (adj.)) + pro "for" (see pro-). Related: Properly.

From early 14c. as "belonging or pertaining to oneself; individual; intrinsic;" from mid-14c. as "pertaining to a person or thing in particular, special, specific; distinctive, characteristic;" also "what is by the rules, correct, appropriate, acceptable." From early 15c. as "separate, distinct; itself." Meaning "socially appropriate, decent, respectable" is first recorded 1704. Proper name "name belonging to or relating to the person or thing in question," is from late 13c., a sense also preserved in astronomical proper motion (c.1300). Proper noun is from c.1500.
propertied (adj.): "holding property," 1760, from property (n.).
property (n.): c.1300, properte, "nature, quality," later "possession, thing owned" (early 14c., a sense rare before 17c.), from an Anglo-French modification of Old French propriete "individuality, peculiarity; property" (12c., Modern French propreté; cf. propriety), from Latin proprietatem (nominative proprietas) "ownership, a property, propriety, quality," literally "special character" (a loan-translation of Greek idioma), noun of quality from proprius "one's own, special" (see proper). For "possessions, private property" Middle English sometimes used proper goods. Hot property "sensation, a success" is from 1947 in "Billboard" stories.
prophase: 1884, from German prophase (Strasburger, 1884); see pro- + phase.
prophecy (n.): c.1200, prophecie, prophesie, "function of a prophet," from Old French profecie (12c. Modern French prophétie) and directly from Late Latin prophetia (source also of Spanish profecia, Italian profezia), from Greek propheteia "gift of interpreting the will of the gods," from prophetes (see prophet). Meaning "thing spoken or written by a prophet" is from c.1300.
prophesy (v.): mid-14c., prophecein, prophesein, from Old French prophecier (13c.), from prophecie (see prophecy). The noun and verb spellings were not fully differentiated until 18c. Related: Prophesied; prophesying.
prophet (n.): late 12c., "person who speaks for God; one who foretells, inspired preacher," from Old French prophete, profete "prophet, soothsayer" (11c., Modern French prophète) and directly from Latin propheta, from Greek prophetes (Doric prophatas) "an interpreter, spokesman," especially of the gods, "inspired preacher or teacher," from pro- "before" (see pro-) + root of phanai "to speak," from PIE *bha- (2) "speak" (see fame (n.)).

The Greek word was used in Septuagint for Hebrew nabj "soothsayer." Early Latin writers translated Greek prophetes with Latin vates, but the Latinized form propheta predominated in post-Classical times, chiefly due to Christian writers, probably because of pagan associations of vates. In English, meaning "prophetic writer of the Old Testament" is from late 14c. Non-religious sense is from 1848; used of Muhammad from 1610s (translating Arabic al-nabiy, and sometimes also al-rasul, properly "the messenger"). The Latin word is glossed in Old English by witga.
prophetess (n.): c.1300, from prophet + -ess.
prophetic (adj.): late 15c., from Middle French prophétique (15c.) and directly from Late Latin propheticus, from Greek prophetikos "pertaining to a prophet, oracular," from prophetes (see prophet). Related: Prophetical (mid-15c.); prophetically.