Meanings
- archaicparticiplepastsimple past and past participle of profess
Such honour was done in thoſe dayes to men who profeſt the ſtudy of wiſdome and eloquence, not only in their own Country, but in other Lands, that Cities and Siniories heard them gladly, and with great reſpect, if they had ought in publick to admoniſh the State.
1644, John Milton, Areopagitica; a Speech of Mr. John Milton for the Liberty of Unlicenc’d Printing, to the Parlament of England, London: [s.n.], →OCLC, page 32 more examples
O lawleſſe paunch the cauſe of much deſpight, / Through raunging of a curriſh appetite, / When ſplenish morſels cram the gaping Maw, / Withouten diets care, or trencher-law, / Tho neuer haue I Salerne rimes profeſt / To be ſome Ladies trencher-criticke gueſt; […]
1598, [Joseph Hall], “Lib[er] 4. Sat[yr] 4. Plus beau que fort.”, in Virgidemiarum. The Three Last Bookes. Of Byting Satyres, London: […] Richard Bradocke for Robert Dexter […], →OCLC, page 29Well, Faithful, thou haſt faithfully profeſt / Unto thy Lord: with him thou ſhalt be bleſt; / When Faithleſs ones, with all their vain delights, / Are crying out under their helliſh plights / Sing, Faithful, ſing; and let thy name ſurvive, / For though they kill’d thee, thou art yet alive.
1678, John Bunyan, The Pilgrim’s Progress from This World, to That which is to Come: […], London: […] Nath[aniel] Ponder […], →OCLC, page 137
Cite this entry
profest. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/profest
“profest.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/profest. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “profest,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/profest.
Source: profest on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.