English
profession
Profession comes from Latin profiteor ‘to declare publicly, own (up to) or confess…’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- ‘to shine, glow light’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰeh₂-‘to shine, glow light’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*fatēōr‘to confess’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfateor‘to confess, admit’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEprofiteor‘to declare publicly, own (up to) or confess openly, acknowledge, avow, profess’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEprofessiōnem
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400profession
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400professioun
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500professioun
- Englishearliest quotation 1780profession
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰeh₂-‘to shine, glow light’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*fatēōr‘to confess’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfateor‘to confess, admit’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEprofiteor‘to declare publicly, own (up to) or confess openly, acknowledge, avow, profess’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEprofessiōnem
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400profession
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400professioun
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500professioun
- Englishearliest quotation 1780profession
Earliest quotation: 1780, William Cowper: “I congratulate you upon the wisdom that withheld you…”
Equivalent to profess + -ion
Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- ‘to speak’
Proto-Italic *fatēōr ‘to confess’
Latin fateor ‘to confess, acknowledge’
Latin profitērī
Old French professer ‘to profess’
English profess
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- ‘to shine, glow light’
phone, focus, famous, fuel, ben, phase, favor, favourite, ban, fantasy, fate, fancy, fame, photographer, fatal, bee, fairy, fabulous, emphasis, infant, phenomenon, abandon, phantom, beck, symphony, beacon, eff, fab, fay, bane, boon, epiphany, fable, foyer, banish, buoy, prophetic, bene, banal, infamy, 126 more
through Proto-Italic *fatēōr ‘to confess’
through Latin fateor ‘to confess, admit’
Today it means
noun A promise or vow made on entering a religious order.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- / profession