entry
profit
/ˈprɑfɪt/Money or advantage gained after costs
From Latin pro (forward) + Latin fac (do).
from Latin profectus "growth, advance, increase, success, progress," noun use of past participle of proficere...
+1 more sourcefrom Latin profectus "growth, advance, increase, success, progress," noun use of past participle of proficere...
+1 more sourcefrom Old French prufit , porfit "profit, gain" (mid-12c.)
from Old French prufit , porfit "profit, gain" (mid-12c.)
from Middle English profit
from Middle English profit
Word Ancestry
from Latin profectus "growth, advance, increase, success, progress," noun use of past participle of proficere...
+1 more sourcefrom Latin profectus "growth, advance, increase, success, progress," noun use of past participle of proficere...
+1 more sourcefrom Old French prufit , porfit "profit, gain" (mid-12c.)
from Old French prufit , porfit "profit, gain" (mid-12c.)
from Middle English profit
from Middle English profit
Before it became the accountant’s favorite word, profit was basically a word for moving ahead. Romans could talk about profectus as progress, a thing that had *gone somewhere* rather than just sat there, and that idea slid into Old French as prufit or porfit. The family resemblance is neat: profit belongs with proficient and proficiency, those polished little words for someone who has gotten good at moving forward. Even the verb behind it, proficere, carries the same swagger—'to make progress' and also 'to be useful,' which is why the word can mean both real money and plain old benefit. By the time Middle English took it in, the abstract idea of advancement had turned into the very practical question of what remained after everyone else got paid. So profit is literally progress that survived the bills.
The Story
Before it became the accountant’s favorite word, profit was basically a word for moving ahead. Romans could talk about profectus as progress, a thing that had *gone somewhere* rather than just sat there, and that idea slid into Old French as prufit or porfit. The family resemblance is neat: profit belongs with proficient and proficiency, those polished little words for someone who has gotten good at moving forward. Even the verb behind it, proficere, carries the same swagger—'to make progress' and also 'to be useful,' which is why the word can mean both real money and plain old benefit. By the time Middle English took it in, the abstract idea of advancement had turned into the very practical question of what remained after everyone else got paid. So profit is literally progress that survived the bills.
Modern Usage
A meme shorthand for a vague plan that magically ends in success: 'phase one, do something; phase two, ???; phase three, profit.'
Popularized by: Internet meme culture, especially the South Park "Underpants Gnomes" joke
Notable References
- South Park 'Underpants Gnomes'
- Phase 1 / Phase 2 / Phase 3 meme format
Kin & Kindred
From 'pro'·forward, onward
Derived Terms
English words from this root
From 'fac'·do, make
Derived Terms
English words from this root
Sources
Free Dictionary
Urban Dictionary
Wiktionary