English
problem
Problem comes from Middle English probleme ‘a conundrum’, from Ancient Greek πρόβλημα ‘anything thrown forward, hindrance, obstacle,…’, and ultimately from βάλλω.
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEβάλλωbállō‘to throw’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEπροβάλλωprobállō‘to throw or lay something in front of someone’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEπρόβλημαpróblēma‘anything thrown forward’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEproblēma‘problem’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600probleme
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form‘a conundrum’
- Englishearliest quotation 1910problem
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEβάλλωbállō‘to throw’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEπροβάλλωprobállō‘to throw or lay something in front of someone’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEπρόβλημαpróblēma‘anything thrown forward’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEproblēma‘problem’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600probleme
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form‘a conundrum’
- Englishearliest quotation 1910problem
Earliest quotation: 1910, Emerson Hough, Indianapolis: “[…] it is not fair of you to bring…”
A compound of πρό ‘before, in front of’ + προ- + βάλλω ‘to throw, cast, hurl’
Proto-Indo-European *per-
Proto-Indo-European *pér ‘through’
Proto-Indo-European *pró ‘forwards, before’
Ancient Greek πρό ‘before, in front of’
Proto-Indo-European *gʷelH- ‘to throw, reach, pierce’
Proto-Hellenic *gʷəlnō
Ancient Greek βάλλω ‘to throw, cast, hurl’
Linked words
through Ancient Greek βάλλω ‘to throw, to cast, to hurl’
symbol, devil, metabolic, hyperbolic, emblem, parabolic, anabolic, parable, embolism, metabolize, hyperbola, 34 more
Today it means
noun A difficulty that has to be resolved or dealt with.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Ancient Greek βάλλω / problem