Origin and history of prosper

prosper(v.)

mid-14c., prosperen, "be successful, thrive, advance in any good thing," from Old French prosperer (14c.) and directly from Latin prosperare "cause to succeed, render happy," from prosperus "favorable, fortunate, prosperous" (source also of Spanish and Italian prospero).

This is perhaps etymologically "agreeable to one's wishes," traditionally regarded as from Old Latin pro spere "according to expectation, according to one's hope," from pro "for" (see pro-) + ablative of spes "hope" (from PIE root *speh- "prosperity" (see speed (n.)). Or, if the compound is older, from Proto-Italic *pro-sparo-, from PIE *pro-speh- "to thrive," with second element from PIE *sph-ro- "thriving" (source also of Old English spōwan "to prosper;" again, see speed (n.)). The rarer transitive sense of "make to prosper, promote the success of" is from 1520s.

also from mid-14c.

Entries linking to prosper

speed(n.)

Middle English spede, from Old English sped "success, a successful course; prosperity, riches, wealth; luck, good fortune; opportunity, advancement," from Proto-Germanic *spodiz (source also of Old Saxon spod "success," Dutch spoed "haste, speed," Old High German spuot "success," Old Saxon spodian "to cause to succeed," Middle Dutch spoeden, Old High German spuoten "to haste").

This is reconstructed to be from PIE *spo-ti-, from root *spes- or *speh- "prosperity" (source also of Hittite išpai- "get full, be satiated;" Sanskrit sphira "fat," sphayate "increases;" Latin spes "hope," sperare "to hope;" Old Church Slavonic spechu "endeavor," spĕti "to succeed," Russian spet' "to ripen;" Lithuanian spėju, spėti "to have leisure;" Old English spōwan "to prosper").

The meaning "rapidity of movement, quickness, swiftness" emerged in late Old English (at first usually adverbially, in dative plural, as in spedum feran). The meaning "rate of motion or progress" (whether fast or slow) is from mid-14c. The sense of "gear of a machine" is attested from 1866. Slang use in reference to methamphetamine or a related drug is attested by 1967, from its effect on users.

Speed limit "maximum speed" of a vehicle (originally a locomotive), limited either by law or capability, is from 1879; the police officer's speed-trap is from 1908 (trap (n.1) in the police sense is by 1906). Speed bump as a traffic control device is by 1975; the figurative use is by 1990s. Full speed "highest rate of speed" is recorded from late 14c. Speed reading first attested 1965. Speedball "mix of cocaine and morphine or heroin" is recorded from 1909.

prosperity(n.)

"flourishing or thriving condition, good fortune, wealth, success in anything good or desirable," c. 1200, prosperite, from Old French prosprete (12c., Modern French prospérité) and directly from Latin prosperitatem (nominative prosperitas) "good fortune," from prosperus (see prosper).