English
provost
Provost comes from Old English prōfost ‘officer’, from Late Latin prōpositus ‘set forth’, and ultimately from Latin praepositus ‘one placed in command’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpraepositus‘one placed in command’next step skipped: Late Latin prōpōnō
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEprōpositus‘set forth’variant of praepositus
- Old Englishc. 450–1150prōfost‘officer’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1603–1604provost
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpraepositus‘one placed in command’next step skipped: Late Latin prōpōnō
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEprōpositus‘set forth’variant of praepositus
- Old Englishc. 450–1150prōfost‘officer’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1603–1604provost
Earliest quotation: c. 1603–1604, William Shakespeare, Measure for Measure: “Here comes Signor Claudio, led by the provost to…”
The story
In some senses, via Anglo-Norman provolt; via Anglo-Norman and Old French provost (modern French prévôt).
Every English word from Latin praepositus
Today it means
noun A dean: the head of a cathedral chapter.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin praepositus / provost