Prophet

Prophet
Recorded in various spellings including Proffet, Profit, Proffitt, and Prophet, this is a 13th century English surname, but one of pre medieval French origins. It was presumably one introduced after the Norman Conquest and Invasion of England in 1066. It has two known possible sources. The first is that it is a metonymic or occupational name for a soothsayer or even a village elder. The derivation being from the pre 7th century Old French word "prophete", meaning one who supposedly speaks with divine knowledge, or one who can predict the future. Secondly it can be a nickname for an actor, one who played the role of a prophet in the famous travelling miracle plays and pageants, so popular in medieval times. An early recording of the surname taken from the ancient charters of England is that of Gunnora Prophete in the Subsidy Tax Rolls of the county of Essex in the year 1327. An example from the many recordings of the surname in the surviving church registers of the diocese of Greater London from medieval times, is that of the christening of Elizabeth Proffitt on October 12th 1617 at St. James's, Clerkenwell. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William le Profete. This was dated 1220, in the "Curia regis" rolls of the county of Berkshire, during the reign of King Henry 111rd of England, 1216-1272. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

Surnames reference. 2013.

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  • Prophet — (bande dessinée)  Cet article concerne une bande dessinée française. Pour le DJ néerlandais, voir The Prophet. Prophet Série Genre(s) Aventure Fantastique Scénario Mathieu …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Prophet T8 — Der Prophet T8 ist ein von Sequential Circuits hergestellter Synthesizer. Der Prophet T8 wurde 1983 vorgestellt und kostete damals ca. 14.000 DM. Es handelte sich um ein achtstimmiges, anschlagdynamisches Instrument mit 76 Tasten Holztastatur und …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • prophet — [präf′it] n. [ME prophete < OFr < LL propheta, soothsayer, in LL(Ec), prophet < Gr prophētēs, interpreter of a god s will (in LXX, a Hebrew prophet; in N.T., an inspired preacher) < pro , before + phanai, to speak: see BAN1] 1. a… …   English World dictionary

  • Prophet — Sm std. (13. Jh.), mhd. prophēt[e] Entlehnung. Entlehnt aus l. prophēta, prophētēs, dieses aus gr. prophḗtēs, eigentlich Ausleger und Verkündiger der Orakelsprüche , zu gr. phánai sagen, erklären und gr. pro . Adjektiv: prophetisch; Verb:… …   Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen sprache

  • prophet — ► NOUN (fem. prophetess) 1) an inspired teacher or proclaimer of the will of God. 2) a person who predicts the future. 3) a person who advocates a new belief or theory. ● a prophet is not without honour save in his own country Cf. ↑a prophet is… …   English terms dictionary

  • Prophet — Prophet: Das seit mhd. Zeit (mhd. prophēte) bezeugte Fremdwort bezeichnete zunächst den von Gott berufenen und begeisterten Mahner und Weissager des Alten Testaments. Aus den rein biblischen Zusammenhängen herausgelöst, gilt es dann auch… …   Das Herkunftswörterbuch

  • Prophet — Proph et, n. [F. proph[ e]te, L. propheta, fr. Gr. ?, literally, one who speaks for another, especially, one who speaks for a god an interprets his will to man, fr. ? to say beforehand; ? for, before + ? to say or speak. See {Fame}. ] [1913… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Prophēt — (griech., hebr. Nabi, der Wortbedeutung nach »Sprecher«), bei den Hebräern einer, der in göttlichem Auftrag und Drang redete (nicht etwa bloß, worauf das griechische Wort hinweist, Zukünftiges voraussagte). Zur Zeit des Samuel begegnen wir… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • prophet — late 12c., from O.Fr. prophete (11c.), from L. propheta, from Gk. prophetes (Doric prophatas) an interpreter, spokesman, especially of the gods, from pro before (see PRO (Cf. pro )) + root of phanai to speak, from PIE *bha (2) speak (see …   Etymology dictionary

  • prophet — [n] person, thing that predicts future astrologer, augur, auspex, bard, clairvoyant, diviner, druid, evocator, forecaster, fortuneteller, haruspex, horoscopist, magus, medium, meteorologist, oracle, ovate, palmist, predictor, prognosticator,… …   New thesaurus

  • Prophet — In religion, a prophet (or prophetess) is a person who has encountered the supernatural or the divine and serves as an intermediary with humanity. [ [http://www.thefreedictionary.com/prophet prophet definition of prophet by the Free Online… …   Wikipedia

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