professorprofessor

Professor comes from Middle English professor, from Anglo-Norman proffessur and Latin professor ‘declarer’, from profiteor ‘to profess’.

1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprofiteor¹‘to profess’
2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprofessor¹‘declarer, one who claims knowledge’past participle stem of profiteor
3. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400proffessur¹
4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500professor¹
5. Englishearliest quotation 1591professor¹

1. ¹ Wiktionary, English professor
2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1591, William Shakespeare, The First Part of Henry the Sixt: “[…] I alvvayes thought / It vvas both impious…”.