A ActivateWords

Dictionary / prosper

prosper

/ˈpɹɒspə(ɹ)/ (Received-Pronunciation)/ˈpɹɑspɚ/ (Atlantic-Canada, General-American)/ˈpɹɒspɚ/ (Canada, dialectal)
  • verb
  • from Old French

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

▶ Play the mastery game

1 All current definitions

Every sense of “prosper” in current use, as recorded by Wiktionary. Older and obsolete senses are kept separately.

verb

  1. intransitiveTo be successful; to succeed; to be fortunate or prosperous; to thrive; to make gain.
  2. intransitiveTo grow; to increase.

    And his master saw that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord made all that he did to prosper in his hand.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Genesis 39:3:

Older & obsolete senses (1)
  1. obsoletetransitiveTo favor; to render successful.
Wiktionary: “prosper” (via kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0
Cross-check: WordNet senses (1)
  1. verbmake steady progress; be at the high point in one's career or reach a high point in historical significance or importance — also: thrive, fly high, flourish
Princeton WordNet 3.0 — WordNet License

Synonyms: prosper, do well, do well for oneself, gain, grow, thrive, flourish, succeed

Antonyms: decline, fail, fall, fall on hard times, go awry, go downhill, go pear-shaped, go to pot

Wiktionary: “prosper” (via kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0

2 History of the word

The etymology, the path the word travelled, and the words built from it.

The word’s journey, newest to oldest:

  1. English (today)prosper
  2. Old Frenchprosperer
  3. Latinprosperō “to render happy”
  4. Latinprosperus “prosperous”
  5. Proto-Italic*prosparos
  6. Proto-Indo-European*speh₁- “to succeed”

From Old French prosperer, from Latin prosperō (“to render happy”), from prosperus (“prosperous”), from Proto-Italic *prosparos, from Proto-Indo-European *speh₁- (“to succeed”), whence also Latin spēs (“hope, expectation”).

Wiktionary: “prosper” (via kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0

Derivatives — words built from “prosper”

prospererprosperinglyprosperityprosperlessprosperousunprospered

Phrases & compounds

cheaters never prospercheats never prosperill-gotten gains never prosperlive long and prosper
Wiktionary: “prosper” (via kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0

Want to go deeper? See also “prosper” on Etymonline ↗

3 Original language

Where “prosper” came from before it was English.

Came into English from
Old French
Old French prosperer
Oldest written form
Latin
Latin prosperus “prosperous”
Deepest root (reconstructed)
Proto-Indo-European
Proto-Indo-European *speh₁- “to succeed”
Wiktionary: “prosper” (via kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0

4 Original meaning

What the word meant at the oldest point the record reaches.

Reconstructed Proto-Indo-European root
“to succeed”
Proto-Indo-European *speh₁- — rebuilt by linguists from its descendants; never written down.
Wiktionary: “prosper” (via kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0

Historical meaning — Webster’s 1913

A historical record, labelled as such: some of these senses are dated or have since shifted.

prosper v. t. [F. prosp v. i., or L. prosperare, v. i., or L. prosperare, v. t., fr. prosper or prosperus. See Prosperous.]

  1. To favor; to render successful.

prosper v. i.

  1. To be successful; to succeed; to be fortunate or prosperous; to thrive; to make gain.
  2. To grow; to increase.
Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), public domain, via GCIDE

5 Use it with confidence

Model sentences from the sources, matched to the meaning they show. Read each one aloud, then make your own in the game.

verbMeaning: To grow; to increase.

And his master saw that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord made all that he did to prosper in his hand.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Genesis 39:3:

Wiktionary: “prosper” (via kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0

Three steps to owning it

  1. Pick one meaning above and read its model sentence out loud.
  2. Say who or what the word is about in your own life, then build a sentence around that.
  3. Check it against the definition: would a careful reader understand exactly that meaning?

6 The mastery game

Play it here, or print it and do it with pen and paper. At the end you will know the meanings, history, origin and original meaning — and you will have used the word yourself.

Step 1 of 7

Say it, then spell it

prosper

/ˈpɹɒspə(ɹ)/

Say the word out loud three times, slowly. Notice the stressed syllable. When you are ready, hide it and spell it from memory.

Activate Words · Word-mastery worksheet · Name: ______________________ Date: __________

prosper

/ˈpɹɒspə(ɹ)/ · verb

Step 1 — Say it and write it

Say “prosper” out loud three times. Then cover the word and write it three times from memory.

Step 2 — Know every meaning

Read each definition. Then write it again in your own words.

1. (verb) To be successful; to succeed; to be fortunate or prosperous; to thrive; to make gain.
2. (verb) To grow; to increase.

Step 3 — History and origin

Which language did “prosper” come into English from?   A. Old French  B. Middle French  C. Ancient Greek  D. Medieval Latin

Write the word’s journey back in time (each language and form):

Write three words built from “prosper” and what each means:

Step 4 — Original meaning

The earliest traceable form is Proto-Indo-European *speh₁-. What did it mean?

How does that original meaning connect to the meanings today?

Step 5 — Use it yourself

Write a sentence using “prosper” to mean: To be successful; to succeed; to be fortunate or prosperous; to thrive; to make gain.
Write a sentence using “prosper” to mean: To grow; to increase.

☐ I can explain its meanings   ☐ I know its history   ☐ I know its original language   ☐ I know its original meaning   ☐ I can use it confidently

Answer key — prosper

Origin: A. Old French (Old French prosperer)

Journey: English prosper ← Old French prosperer ← Latin prosperō ← Latin prosperus ← Proto-Italic *prosparos ← Proto-Indo-European *speh₁-

Some derivatives: prosperer, prosperingly, prosperity, prosperless, prosperous, unprospered

Original meaning: Proto-Indo-European *speh₁- — “to succeed”

Etymology: From Old French prosperer, from Latin prosperō (“to render happy”), from prosperus (“prosperous”), from Proto-Italic *prosparos, from Proto-Indo-European *speh₁- (“to succeed”), whence also Latin spēs (“hope, expectation”).

Sources: Wiktionary “prosper” (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/prosper#English), CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org; Princeton WordNet 3.0; Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913, public domain) via GCIDE. Worksheet from https://activatewords.com/w/prosper