Etymology

approve

ap·prove
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Today it means: To officially sanction; to ratify; to confirm; to set as satisfactory. Full definition →

Middle English aproven ← Old French aprover ← Latin approbāre
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approve · verb1

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₂éd
  2. Proto-Italic*ad
  3. Proto-Italic*ad-
  4. Latinad-
  5. Proto-Indo-European*per-der.?
  6. Proto-Indo-European*pér
  7. Proto-Indo-European*pró
  8. Proto-Indo-European*pro-
  9. Proto-Indo-European*bʰuH-
  10. Proto-Indo-European*probʰHwós
  11. Proto-Italic*proβwos
  12. Proto-Italic*proβos
  13. Proto-Italic*proβāō
  14. Latinprobō
  15. Latinapprobāre
  16. Old Frenchaprover
  17. Middle Englishaproven
  18. English todayapprove

From Middle English aproven, appreoven, appreven, apreven, borrowed from Old French aprover, approver, approuvir, appreuver (“to approve”), from Latin approbō, from ad + probō (“to esteem as good, approve, prove”). Doublet of approbate. By surface analysis, ad- + prove.

approve · verb2

  1. Latin · derived fromprōsum“be useful or profitable”
  2. Old French · derived fromaprouer
  3. Middle English · inherited fromapprouen
  4. English todayapprove

From Middle English approuen, approven, from Old French aprouer; a- + a form apparently derived from the pro, prod, in Latin prōsum (“be useful or profitable”). Compare with improve.

Words from the same roots

Latinapprobō all →

approbative

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.