Idioms for prompt
take a prompt,
(in acting) to move or speak in response to a cue.
Origin of prompt
1300–50; (v.) Middle English < Medieval Latin
prōmptāre to incite, Latin: to distribute, frequentative of
prōmere to bring out, equivalent to
prō-
pro-1 + (
e)
mere to take, buy; (adj.) late Middle English < Latin
promptus ready, prompt, special use of past participle of
prōmere
historical usage of prompt
Prompt, adjective and verb, presents some oddities. One is that the first recorded date for the adjective is about 1425 and for the verb, 1428, making it impossible to determine which part of speech was the source for the other. A second oddity is that
prompting, the gerund (verbal noun) logically derived from
prompt and meaning “incitement or impulse to action,” is first recorded in 1402, a quarter of a century before the verb. A third difficulty is that the Medieval Latin verb
promptāre, the possible source of the English word, does not exist per se but is inferred from its Medieval Latin derivative noun
promptātor “one who incites or urges,” recorded in the mid-15th century, and the Old Italian verb
prontare “to urge, press.”
The commercial sense of the noun prompt “a time limit given for payment for merchandise purchased" dates from the mid-18th century. The computer sense of the noun “a message or symbol on a display screen requesting more information from a user" dates from 1977.
The commercial sense of the noun prompt “a time limit given for payment for merchandise purchased" dates from the mid-18th century. The computer sense of the noun “a message or symbol on a display screen requesting more information from a user" dates from 1977.
OTHER WORDS FROM prompt
Words nearby prompt
Example sentences from the Web for promptly
British Dictionary definitions for promptly
Derived forms of prompt
promptly, adverb promptness, nounWord Origin for prompt
C15: from Latin
promptus evident, from
prōmere to produce, from
pro-
1 +
emere to buy