English
prosaic
Prosaic comes from Medieval Latin prosaicus ‘in prose’, from Old Latin provorsus ‘straight ahead’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wer- ‘to turn, to bend’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wer-‘to turn, to bend’reconstructed
- Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEprovorsus‘straight ahead’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprorsus‘straightforward, in prose’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEprosa‘prose’
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500prosaicus‘in prose’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600prosaïque
- Englishearliest quotation 1848prosaic
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wer-‘to turn, to bend’reconstructed
- Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEprovorsus‘straight ahead’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprorsus‘straightforward, in prose’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEprosa‘prose’
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500prosaicus‘in prose’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600prosaïque
- Englishearliest quotation 1848prosaic
Earliest quotation: 1848, – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray: “Our people are the most prosaic in the world,…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *wer- ‘to turn, to bend’
wear, guard, ward, regard, con, garage, warn, worm, beware, garrison, verge, ware, weir, optic, panorama, reverence, revere, vermin, wry, vermilion, guaranty, diorama, milliner, varmint, vermeil, vermicelli, vermiculite, 68 more
through Latin prosa ‘prose’
Today it means
adj Pertaining to or having the characteristics of prose.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *wer- / prosaic