Etymograph

English

prosper

Prosper comes from Old French prosperer ‘to favor’, from Latin prosperō ‘to render happy’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *speh₁- ‘to succeed’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*speh₁-1‘to succeed’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*prosparos1reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprosperus1‘prosperous’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprosperō1‘to render happy’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400prosperer1‘to favor’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1549prosper1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English prosper
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1549, Thomas Cranmer et al., London: […] Edowardi Whitchurche […]: “Prosper thou our handiwork.”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*speh₁-Wiktionary, English prosper‘to succeed’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*prosparosWiktionary, English prosperreconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprosperusWiktionary, English prosper‘prosperous’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprosperōWiktionary, English prosper‘to render happy’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400prospererWiktionary, English prosper‘to favor’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1549prosperWiktionary, English prosper. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1549, Thomas Cranmer et al., London: […] Edowardi Whitchurche […]: “Prosper thou our handiwork.”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *speh₁- ‘to succeed’

speed, spare, desperate, despair, spatial, desperation, spat, esperanza, desperado, esperance, 4 more

Today it means

verb To be successful; to succeed; to be fortunate or prosperous; to thrive; to make gain.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “prosper”. 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 *speh₁- / prosper

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