prose

Used in English since 1330, from French prose, from Latin prōsa (“straightforward”) from the term prōsa ōrātiō (“a straightforward speech- i.e. without the ornaments of verse”). The term prōsa (“straightforward”) is a colloquial form of prorsa (“straight forwards”) which is the feminine form of prorsus (“straight forwards”), from Old Latin prōvorsus (“moving straight ahead”), from pro- (“forward”) + vorsus (“turned”), form of vertō (“I turn”). Compare verse.[1]

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈpɹəʊz/
• Rhymes: -əʊz

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Homophone: pros

prose (usually uncountable, plural proses)

1. Language, particularly written language, not intended as poetry.

   Though known mostly for her prose, she also produced a small body of excellent poems.

   • (Can we date this quote?) John Milton

     things unattempted yet in prose or rhyme

2. Language which evinces little imagination or animation; dull and commonplace discourse.
3. (Roman Catholicism) A hymn with no regular meter, sometimes introduced into the Mass.

• poetry, verse

• prose poem
• purple prose

• prosaic
• prosody

prose (third-person singular simple present proses, present participle prosing, simple past and past participle prosed)

1. To write or repeat in a dull, tedious, or prosy way.
   • 1819, John Keats, Otho the Great, Act I, Scene II, verses 189-190

     Pray, do not prose, good Ethelbert, but speak

     What is your purpose?

• prose in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.

• OPers., Peros, Perso-, S'pore, Soper, Spero, opers, pores, poser, preso, reops, repos, ropes, spore

From Latin prōsa.

• IPA^(key): /pʁoz/

• Audio (France)

  (file)

• Audio

  (file)

• Homophone: proses

prose f (plural proses)

1. prose

• faire de la prose sans le savoir
• prosateur
• proser

prose

1. inflection of proser:
   1. first-person and third-person singular present indicative and subjunctive
   2. second-person singular imperative

• “prose” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

• perso, pores, poser, repos

prose f

1. plural of prosa

• perso, porse, preso, spero, sperò, spore

From Proto-Slavic *porsę.

• IPA^(key): /ˈprɔsɛ/, [ˈprɔsə]

prose n (genitive proseśa, dual proseśi, plural proseta)

1. piglet