English
procuration
Procuration comes from Latin procuratio ‘administration, management’, from cūrō ‘to arrange, see to, attend to, take care of,…’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kʷeys-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷeys-1‘to see’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kʷoizā1‘care’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcūra1
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcūrō1‘to arrange, see to, attend to, take care of, look after, ensure, tend to’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprōcūrō2‘to manage, administer’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprocuratio3as prōcūrātiōnem‘administration, management’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600procuration3
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500procuracioun3‘the actions or role of a delegate or representative’
- Englishearliest quotation 1622procuration3
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin procuro
- 2 Wiktionary, Latin procuratio
- 3 Wiktionary, English procuration
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1622, Francis, Lord Verulam: “For she was not only publicly contracted, but stated…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷeys-Wiktionary, Latin procuro‘to see’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kʷoizāWiktionary, Latin procuro‘care’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcūraWiktionary, Latin procuro
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcūrōWiktionary, Latin procuro‘to arrange, see to, attend to, take care of, look after, ensure, tend to’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprōcūrōWiktionary, Latin procuratio‘to manage, administer’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprocuratioWiktionary, English procurationas prōcūrātiōnem‘administration, management’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600procurationWiktionary, English procuration
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500procuraciounWiktionary, English procuration‘the actions or role of a delegate or representative’
- Englishearliest quotation 1622procurationWiktionary, English procuration. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1622, Francis, Lord Verulam: “For she was not only publicly contracted, but stated…”
Equivalent to procure + -ation
Late Latin prōcūrāre ‘to manage, administer’
Old French procurer ‘to procure’
Middle English procuren ‘to recruit’
English procure
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *kʷeys- ‘to see’
through Proto-Italic *kʷoizā ‘care’
ensure, assure, insure, 5 more
through Latin cūra
sure, security, secure, curator, sicker, manicure, 9 more
through Latin cūrō ‘to arrange, see to, attend to, take care of,…’
accurate, cure, incurable, 5 more
through Latin prōcūrō ‘to manage, administer’
through Latin procuratio ‘administration, management’
Today it means
noun The act of procuring; procurement.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “procuration”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin procuro, Latin procuratio. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *kʷeys- / procuration