Origin and history of propinquity

propinquity(n.)

late 14c., propinquite, "nearness in relation, kinship," later also "nearness in place, physical nearness" (early 15c.), from Old French propinquite (13c.) and directly from Latin propinquitatem (nominative propinquitas) "nearness, vicinity; relationship, affinity," from propinquus "near, neighboring," from prope "near," with loss of second -r- by dissimilation, from PIE *propro "on and on, ever further" (source also of Sanskrit pra-pra "on and on," Greek pro-pro "before, on and on"), from root *per- (1) "forward," hence "in front of, toward, near." The signification of the suffix -inquus is unclear.

Nothing propinks like propinquity [Ian Fleming, chapter heading in "Diamonds are Forever," 1956; the phrase was popularized 1960s by U.S. diplomat George Ball]

also from late 14c.

Entries linking to propinquity

approach(v.)

c. 1300, "to go or come near" in place; by late 14c. as "come near" in time, also "come near in quality or character, resemble, become similar," from Anglo-French approcher, Old French aprochier "come closer" (12c., Modern French approcher), from Late Latin appropiare, adpropiare "go nearer to," from Latin ad "to" (see ad-) + Late Latin propiare "come nearer," comparative of Latin prope "near" (see propinquity). Replaced Old English neahlæcan.

approximate(adj.)

1640s, "near in position, close to," from Late Latin approximatus, past participle of approximare "to come near to," from Latin ad "to" (see ad-) + proximare "come near," from proximus "nearest," superlative of prope "near" (see propinquity).

The meaning "near in accuracy or correctness" is by 1816. It also was used in Middle English in a sense of "similar" (early 15c.).

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proximate
1590s (implied in proximately), "closely neighboring; next, immediate, without intervention of a third," from Late Latin proximatus, past participle of proximare "to draw near, approach," from proximus "nearest, next; most direct; adjoining," figuratively "latest, most recent; ne
proximity
"nearness in place, time, or relation," late 15c., proxymyte [Caxton], from French proximité "nearness" (14c.), from Latin proximitatem (nominative proximitas) "nearness, vicinity," from proximus "nearest, next; most direct; adjoining," figuratively "latest, most recent; next, fo
reproach
mid-14c., reproche, "a rebuke, blame, censure" directed against a person; also "object of scorn or contempt;" c. 1400, as "disgrace, state of disgrace," from Anglo-French repruce, Old French reproche "blame, shame, disgrace" (12c.), from reprochier "to blame, bring up against." O
sincere
1530s, "pure, unmixed, unadulterated;" also "free from pretense or falsehood," from French sincere (16c.), from Latin sincerus, of things, "whole, clean, pure, uninjured, unmixed," figuratively "sound, genuine, pure, true, candid, truthful" (unadulterated by deceit), a word of un
saute
"a dish cooked by being fried in a pan over high heat," 1813, from French sauté, literally "jumped, bounced" (in reference to tossing continually while cooking), past participle of sauter "to jump," from Latin saltare "to hop, dance," frequentative of salire "to leap" (see salien
abolish
"put an end to, do away with," mid-15c., from Old French aboliss-, present-participle stem of abolir "to abolish" (15c.), from Latin abolere "destroy, efface, annihilate; cause to die out, retard the growth of," which is perhaps from ab "off, away from" (see ab-) + the second ele
cherub
late 14c. as an order of angels, from Late Latin cherub, from Greek kheroub, from Hebrew kerubh (plural kerubhim) "winged angel," which according to Klein is perhaps related to Akkadian karubu "to bless," karibu "one who blesses," an epithet of the bull-colossus. Old English had
obsess
c. 1500, "to besiege" (a sense now obsolete), from Latin obsessus, past participle of obsidere "watch closely; besiege, occupy; stay, remain, abide" literally "sit opposite to," from ob "against" (see ob-) + sedere "to sit," from PIE root *sed- (1) "to sit." Of evil spirits, "to
hew
Old English heawan "to chop, hack, gash, strike with a cutting weapon or tool" (class VII strong verb; past tense heow, past participle heawen), earlier geheawan, from Proto-Germanic *hawwanan (source also of Old Norse hoggva, Old Frisian hawa, Old Saxon hauwan, Middle Dutch hauw
oven
Old English ofen "furnace, oven, chamber or receptacle in which food is baked or cooked by continuous heat radiated from the structure," from Proto-Germanic *ukhnaz (source also of Old Frisian, Dutch oven, Old High German ovan, German Ofen, Old Norse ofn, Old Swedish oghn, Gothic

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