purposepurpose

Purpose comes from Middle English purpos, from Old French purposer ‘to propose’, from Latin prōpōnō (prō- + pōnō ‘to put’).

1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpōnō¹‘to place, put’
2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprōpōnō²as prōpōnō‘to put forth, propose’
3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400purposer²‘to propose’
4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500purpos²
5. Englishearliest quotation 1598–1599purpose²

1. ¹ Wiktionary, Latin propono
2. ² Wiktionary, English purpose
3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1598–1599, William Shakespeare: “[…]he was woont to ſpeake plaine, and to the…”.