prose的词源

英文词源

prose

prose: [14] Prose is etymologically ‘straightforward discourse’ (as opposed to the more sophisticated discourse of poetry). The term comes via Old French prose from Latin prōsa, which was short for prōsa ōrātiō ‘straightforward discourse’. Prōsus ‘straightforward, direct’ was a contraction of an earlier prōversus, the past participle of prōvertere ‘turn forward’. This was a compound verb formed from the prefix prō- ‘forward’ and vertere ‘turn’ (source of English verse, version, etc).
=> verse, version

prose (n.)

c. 1300, "story, narration," from Old French prose (13c.), from Latin prosa oratio "straightforward or direct speech" (without the ornaments of verse), from prosa, fem. of prosus, earlier prorsus "straightforward, direct," from Old Latin provorsus "(moving) straight ahead," from pro- "forward" (see pro-) + vorsus "turned," past participle of vertere "to turn" (see verse).

"Good prose, to say nothing of the original thoughts it conveys, may be infinitely varied in modulation. It is only an extension of metres, an amplification of harmonies, of which even the best and most varied poetry admits but few." [Walter Savage Landor, "Imaginary Conversations"]

Meaning "prose writing; non-poetry" is from mid-14c. The sense of "dull or commonplace expression" is from 1680s, out of earlier sense "plain expression" (1560s). Those who lament the want of an English agent noun to correspond to poet might try prosaist (1776), proser (1620s), or Frenchified prosateur (1880), though the first two in their day also acquired in English the secondary sense "dull writer."

中文词源

prose：散文

来自古法语prose,故事，叙述，来自拉丁语prosa oratio,直白的叙述，没有诗意的话，来自provorsus,直接向前转，来自pro-,向前，-vorse,转，词源同verse,versus.oratio,叙述，讲述，词源同orator.后用于指书写文体散文。

该词的英语词源请访问找单词词源英文版：prose 词源，prose 含义。

prose：散文

pro-指“向前”；-se是词根vers"转"的缩略；字面义“转向前，朝前”，引申为“直接的”。和诗文相比，散文的文字更直接易懂。