English
proffer
Proffer comes from Middle English profre ‘act of offering or presenting a gift’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- ‘to bear, carry’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰer-‘to bear, carry’root as named · steps between not traced
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500profre‘act of offering or presenting a gift’
- Englishearliest quotation 1577proffer
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰer-‘to bear, carry’root as named · steps between not traced
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500profre‘act of offering or presenting a gift’
- Englishearliest quotation 1577proffer
Earliest quotation: 1577, Raphaell Holinshed, Queene Marie: “[A]fter ſome reſiſtance with ſhotte and arrowes, and profer…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- ‘to bear, carry’
different, bar, birth, bear, difference, bread, relative, translation, reference, extraordinary, transfer, relation, fortune, broad, relate, burden, barrel, barn, frustration, bore, translate, prefer, fury, breeze, bark, suffer, borne, baron, referendum, fertility, referee, phosphate, extravagant, differ, embargo, fret, phosphorus, euphoria, fertile, berth, 159 more
Today it means
noun An offer made; something proposed for acceptance by another; a tender.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- / proffer