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Origin and history of prom

prom(n.)

"student formal dance in celebration of graduation," 1894, American English shortened form of promenade (n.). Prom dress attested from 1975.

also from 1894

Entries linking to prom

promenade(n.)

1560s, "a leisurely walk, a walk for pleasure or display," from French promenade "a walking, a public walk" (16c.), from se promener "go for a walk," from Late Latin prominare "to drive (animals) onward," from pro "forth" (see pro-) + minare "to drive (animals) with shouts," from minari "to threaten" (see menace (n.)).

Meaning "place for walking" is from 1640s; specifically "walkway by the sea" (from late 18c.); British sense of "music hall favored by 'loose women and the simpletons who run after them' " [The Observer, Jan. 18, 1863, in reference to the Alhambra in Leicester Square] is attested from 1863. Sense of "a dance given by or at a school" is from 1887.

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    ball
    "round object, compact spherical body," also "a ball used in a game," c. 1200, probably from an unrecorded Old English *beal, *beall (evidenced by the diminutive bealluc "testicle"), or from cognate Old Norse bollr "ball," from Proto-Germanic *balluz (source also of Dutch bal, Fl
    formal
    late 14c., "pertaining to form or arrangement;" also, in philosophy and theology, "pertaining to the form or essence of a thing," from Old French formal, formel "formal, constituent" (13c.) and directly from Latin formalis, from forma "a form, figure, shape" (see form (n.)). From
    virtual
    late 14c., "influencing by physical virtues or capabilities, effective with respect to inherent natural qualities," from Medieval Latin virtualis, from Latin virtus "excellence, potency, efficacy," literally "manliness, manhood" (see virtue). The meaning "being something in essen
    Albuquerque
    city in New Mexico, founded 1706 and named for Spanish administrator and viceroy of Mexico Francisco Fernández de la Cueva, Duque de Alburquerque (1617-1676); the name subsequently was altered by association with Portuguese hero Alfonso d'Albuquerque (1453-1515), the "Portuguese
    tantalize
    "to tease or torment by presenting something desirable to the view and frustrating expectation by keeping it out of reach," 1590s, with -ize + Latin Tantalus, from Greek Tantalos, name of a mythical king of Phrygia in Asia Minor. Son of Zeus, father of Pelops and Niobe, famous fo
    bimbo
    a word of vague etymology, perhaps a convergence of two or more words, given wide application in late 19c. and settling into its main modern meaning "floozie" from early 1920s, with a revival in 1980s. Bimbo first appears as the name of an alcoholic punch, mentioned in newspapers
    necromancy
    c. 1300, nygromauncy, nigromauncie, "sorcery, witchcraft, black magic," properly "divination by communication with the dead," from Old French nigromancie "magic, necromancy, witchcraft, sorcery," from Medieval Latin nigromantia (13c.), from Latin necromantia "divination from an e
    culture
    mid-15c., "the tilling of land, act of preparing the earth for crops," from Latin cultura "a cultivating, agriculture," figuratively "care, culture, an honoring," from past participle stem of colere "to tend, guard; to till, cultivate" (see colony). Meaning "the cultivation or re
    sister
    mid-13c., suster, "female sibling, a female person in her relation to other children of the same parents," from Old English sweostor, swuster, Northumbrian soester "sister," or a Scandinavian cognate (Old Norse systir, Swedish syster, Danish søster), in any case from Proto-German
    psyche
    1640s, "animating spirit, the human spirit or mind," from Latin psyche, from Greek psykhē "the soul, mind, spirit; life, one's life, the invisible animating principle or entity which occupies and directs the physical body; understanding, the mind (as the seat of thought), faculty

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