proffer
Part of speech: noun
verb
Morphological type: simple
Etymology: The noun is derived from Middle English profre (“act of offering or presenting a gift; offer of something; challenge; sacrifice; act of petitioning or requesting; petition, request; proposal, suggestion; idea, thought; attempt, effort; appearance; (law) payment to the Exchequer by a sheriff or other officer of estimated revenue due to the monarch”) [and other forms], and then:
* partly from Late Latin profrum, proferum (“payment to the Exchequer of estimated revenue due to the monarch (also puruoffrus), offer to convict a criminal”), and from its likely etymon Anglo-Norman profre, proffre, porofre (“payment to the Exchequer of estimated revenue due to the monarch; offer, proposal”), and
* partly from the verb.
The verb is derived from Late Middle English prouffer, prouffre, Middle English profren, profer, proffere (“to offer, propose; to deliver, hand over, present; to take up; to volunteer; to dedicate; to attempt, try; to risk; to challenge; to provide; to ask, invite; to proceed, start; to grant; to argue”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman profrer, proferer, profferer, proffrir, propherer, proufrir, and Old French proferir, proffrir, profrir (“to offer, propose; to present; to volunteer”), variants of Anglo-Norman puroffrir and Middle French poroffrir, paroffrir, Old French poroffrir, paroffrir, porofrir, from por-, pur- (prefix meaning ‘to go through’ or having an intensifying effect) + offrir, ofrir (“to offer”) (modern French offrir (“to offer; to give as a gift; to open oneself up to (someone)”)). Offrir is derived from Vulgar Latin *offerīre, from Latin offerre, present active infinitive of offerō (“to offer, present; to exhibit, show; to expose; to cause, inflict; to consecrate, dedicate; to sacrifice”) (from ob- (prefix meaning ‘against; towards’) + ferō (“to bear, carry; to support; to endure; to bring forth; to put in motion; to move forward”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- (“to bear, carry”))).
Inflected forms:
form: proffers
pos: noun
tags: plural
form: profre
pos: noun
tags: alternative
form: proffre
pos: noun
tags: alternative
form: proffers
pos: verb
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: proffering
pos: verb
tags: participle
present
form: proffered
pos: verb
tags: participle
past
form: proffered
pos: verb
tags: past
form: profre
pos: verb
tags: alternative
form: proffre
pos: verb
tags: alternative
Senses:
gloss: An offer made; something proposed for acceptance by another; a tender.
pos: noun
examples: [T]heir ovvn eies vvilbe perhaps more curious iudges, out of heareſay they may have builded many conceites, vvhich I can not perchaunce vvil not performe, then vvil vndeſerued repentance be a greater ſhame and iniurie vnto me, then their vndeſerued proffer, is honour.
Her lips, man, her lips! and that's a proffer I would not make to every one who crosses my threshold. But, by good St Valentine, (whose holiday will dawn to-morrow,) I am so glad to see thee in the bonny city of Perth again, that it would be hard to tell the thing I could refuse thee.
[H]ow, if you tell him this, will you make him understand that I say so as an act of justice, and not in the least as a proffer of affection?
"Oh no," she refused demurely at their proffer of coffee. "I can't do that now. I-I — I don't know if Jo's told you our good news! Perhaps a glass of milk."
He said a reversionary proffer – saying the property would revert to its prior zoning if certain benchmarks were not met by the developers – was brought up in a conceptual discussion in a pre-application meeting in May 2014 with the developers, but did not progress beyond that.
gloss: An attempt, an essay.
pos: noun
tags: obsolete
examples: [A]fter ſome reſiſtance with ſhotte and arrowes, and profer of onſet made by their horſemen, they were put to flight, [...]
It is a Thing ſtrange in Nature, when it is attentiuely conſidered, How Children and ſome Birds, learne to imitate Speech. [...] It is true, that it is done with time, and by little and little, and with many Eſſayes and Proffers: But all this diſchargeth not the VVonder.
gloss: To offer for acceptance; to propose to give; to make a tender of.
pos: verb
tags: reflexive
transitive
examples: to proffer friendship, a gift, or services
Cæſar in this hath offered like himſelfe, / He proffereth to preſerue your tovvne vntouch'd: / Your goods, your vviues, your liues, your liberties: […]
Thou proffers me of thy wages to have: / I thee defy, power, and all the leave, / That helps thee here of thy ſtout nation.
If a Man, proffering to ſell Grain for Seed, ſhould ſell Grain which is not fit for Seed, the Magiſtrate ſhall chaſtiſe him, and take a Fine according to the Offence.
Thou proud knight, what profferest thou me so boldly? here gettest thou no prey; thou mayest prove when thou wilt, for thou shalt be my prisoner, or thou depart.
The ministry proffered various civil offices, which yielded not only honour but profit; but he declined them all, with the chivalrous independence and loyalty that had marked his character through life.
They were to assure the strangers of a free passage through the country, and a friendly reception in the capital. The proffered friendship of the Spaniards was cordially embraced, with many awkward excuses for the past. The envoys were to touch at the Tlascalan camp on their way, and inform Xicotencatl of their proceedings. They were to require him, at the same time, to abstain from all further hostilities, and to furnish the white men with an ample supply of provisions.
And in August, high in air, the beautiful and bountiful horse-chestnuts, candelabra-wise, proffer the passer-by their tapering upright cones of congregated blossoms.
Your daughter Célestine has too strong a sense of her duty to proffer a word of reproach.
He proffered a pact to Satan, calling upon the Fiend and working himself into a frenzy - but his infernal majesty failed to respond.
The queen rises up and takes Edward from me, and proffers the sleeping child to the king. He shrinks away. 'No, no. I don't want to hold it. Just tell me. Is this a girl or a boy?'
gloss: To attempt or essay of one's own accord; to undertake or propose to undertake.
pos: verb
tags: obsolete
transitive
examples: [N]one among the choice and prime / Of thoſe Heav'n-warring Champions could be found / So hardie as to proffer or accept / Alone the dreadful voyage; [...]
Related words: prolate
profer
Derived words: proffer letter
profferable
profferer
proffer up
unproffered
Translations: