Etymograph

English

approve

Approve comes from Latin approbāre, from probō ‘to approve, permit, commend’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH- ‘to be, become, grow, appear’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰuH-‘to be, become, grow, appear’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*probʰHwósreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*proβwosreconstructed
  4. Proto-Italic, derivedc. 1500–700 BCE*proβos‘favourable’reconstructed
  5. Proto-Italic, derivedc. 1500–700 BCE*proβāō‘to approve’reconstructed
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprobō‘to approve, permit, commend’
  7. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEapprobāre
  8. Old Frenchc. 842–1400aprover
  9. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500aproven‘to prove’
  10. Englishearliest quotation a. 1729approve

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰuH-‘to be, become, grow, appear’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*probʰHwósreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*proβwosreconstructed
  4. Proto-Italic, derivedc. 1500–700 BCE*proβos‘favourable’reconstructed
  5. Proto-Italic, derivedc. 1500–700 BCE*proβāō‘to approve’reconstructed
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprobō‘to approve, permit, commend’
  7. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEapprobāre
  8. Old Frenchc. 842–1400aprover
  9. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500aproven‘to prove’
  10. Englishearliest quotation a. 1729approve

Earliest quotation: a. 1729, John Rogers: “The first care and concern must be to approve…”

Equivalent to ad- + prove

Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd ‘near, at’

Proto-Italic *ad ‘toward, to, on, up to, for’

Latin ad ‘to, towards’

English ad-

Proto-Indo-European *pro-bʰuH-s ‘being in front’

…

Latin probō ‘to test; to approve’

Proto-West Germanic *prōbōn

Old English prōfian ‘to esteem; to test, prove’

Middle English proven

English prove

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH- ‘to be, become, grow, appear’

be, been, power, possible, future, build, present, physical, essential, bond, presence, bush, bound, absence, contribution, physician, entity, booth, absent, favorable, distribute, contributor, fiat, bun, favourable, bouquet, retribution, attribution, imp, rebuke, impotent, impossibility, bower, aren, beamer, bosque, phylogeny, physic, phylum, busk, 83 more

through Proto-Italic *proβos ‘favourable’

probe, probity, 9 more

through Latin probō ‘to approve, permit, commend’

proof, improve, probability, probation, probable, probate, probative, 12 more

Today it means

verb To officially sanction; to ratify; to confirm; to set as satisfactory.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH- / approve

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