English
professional
Professional comes from Middle English professhennalle.
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500professhennalle
- Englishearliest quotation 1907professional
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500professhennalle
- Englishearliest quotation 1907professional
Earliest quotation: 1907, Robert William Chambers, New York: “His forefathers had been, as a rule, professional men—physicians…”
Formed from profession + -al
Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- ‘to shine, glow light’
…
Latin professiōnem
Old French profession
Anglo-Norman professioun
Middle English professioun
English profession
Every English word from Middle English professhennalle
Today it means
noun A person who belongs to a profession.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Middle English professhennalle / professional