English
procacity
Procacity comes from Latin procācitās ‘boldness, shamelessness, impudence’, from procō ‘ask, demand’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *preḱ-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*preḱ-‘to ask, woo’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*prokosreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprocus‘suitor’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEprocō‘ask, demand’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEprocāx‘bold, impudent’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEprocācitās‘boldness, shamelessness, impudence’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600procacité
- Englishearliest quotation 1624procacity
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*preḱ-‘to ask, woo’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*prokosreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprocus‘suitor’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEprocō‘ask, demand’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEprocāx‘bold, impudent’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEprocācitās‘boldness, shamelessness, impudence’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600procacité
- Englishearliest quotation 1624procacity
Earliest quotation: 1624, Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy: What it Is: “In vain are all your flatteries, In vain are…”
Formed from -acity
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *preḱ- ‘to ask, woo’
prayer, pray, precarious, postulate, deprecation, 25 more
through Latin procō ‘ask, demand’
arrogant, arrogance, derogatory, prerogative, derogation, 12 more
Today it means
noun The state of being procacious; forwardness, pertness, or petulance, or an instance thereof.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *preḱ- / procacity