- a prefix indicating favor for some party, system, idea, etc., without identity with the group (pro-British; pro-Communist; proslavery), having anti- as its opposite.
- a prefix of priority in space or time having especially a meaning of advancing or projecting forward or outward, and also used to indicate substitution, attached widely to stems not used as words: provision; prologue; proceed; produce; protract; procathedral; proconsul.
Origin of pro-1
- a prefix identical in meaning with pro-1, occurring in words borrowed from Greek (prodrome) or formed of Greek (and occasionally Latin) elements.
Origin of pro-2
Examples from the Web for pro-
Contemporary Examples of pro-
Tensions have boiled since, with pro- and anti-Morsi crowds occasionally clashing violently.Egypt Braces For a Fight
June 28, 2013
Not one among the legions of pro- and antiwar hooting senators could find the time.Vet Snub Shocks Families
Leslie H. Gelb
July 18, 2010
It will be the first time that pro- and anti-government demonstrations will be going head-to-head since last summer.Iran on the Brink
February 9, 2010
Historical Examples of pro-
The pro- fyte of the dede / or the commoditie may be fet at the circumstaunce of it.The Art or Crafte of Rhetoryke
Parapodia: the pro- or false legs: more specifically applied to the jointed abdominal processes of the Symphyla.
Pro-: anterior: used as a prefix to designate the parts of the first thoracic segment.
I do not pro- pose to throw away the good on account of the bad, neither do I propose to accept the bad on account of the good.
It is also unscientific to say that labor was pro- nounced as a curse upon man.
- in favour of; supportingpro-Chinese
- acting as a substitute forproconsul; pronoun
Word Origin for pro-
- before in time or position; anterior; forwardprophase; procephalic; prognathous
Word Origin for pro-
Word Origin and History for pro-
word-forming element meaning "forward, forth, toward the front" (e.g. proclaim, proceed); "beforehand, in advance" (prohibit, provide); "taking care of" (procure); "in place of, on behalf of" (proconsul, pronoun); from Latin pro "on behalf of, in place of, before, for, in exchange for, just as," which also was used as a prefix.
Also in some cases from cognate Greek pro "before, in front of, sooner," which also was used in Greek as a prefix (e.g. problem). Both the Latin and Greek words are from PIE *pro- (cf. Sanskrit pra- "before, forward, forth;" Gothic faura "before," Old English fore "before, for, on account of," fram "forward, from;" Old Irish roar "enough"), extended form of root *per- (1) "forward, through" (see per).
The common modern sense "in favor of, favoring" (e.g. pro-independence, pro-fluoridation, pro-Soviet) was not in classical Latin and is attested in English from early 19c.
- Earlier; before; prior to:progenitor.
- Anterior; in front of:procephalic.