profess

The story

1. Latin · derived fromprofitērī
2. Old French · derived fromprofesser
3. English todayprofess

From Old French professer, and its source, the participle stem of Latin profitērī, from pro- + fatērī (“to confess, acknowledge”).

First known use, by meaning

• from 14th c. To administer the vows of a religious order to (someone); to admit to a religious order.
• from 16th c. To declare oneself (to be something).
• from 16th c. To declare; to assert, affirm.
• from 16th c. To make a claim (to be something); to lay claim to (a given quality, feeling etc.), often with connotations of insincerity.
• from 16th c. To declare one's adherence to (a religion, deity, principle etc.).
• from 16th c. To work as a professor of; to teach.
• from 16th c. To claim to have knowledge or understanding of (a given area of interest, subject matter).