pro

a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.

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noun, plural pros. Slang.

prophylactic ( def 5 ).

Origin:
shortened form

preposition Latin.

for.

Can be confused: con, pro.

public relations officer.

Also, P.R.O.

Biochemistry.

proline.

a prefix indicating favor for some party, system, idea, etc., without identity with the group (pro-British; pro-Communist; proslavery), having anti- as its opposite.

a prefix of priority in space or time having especially a meaning of advancing or projecting forward or outward, and also used to indicate substitution, attached widely to stems not used as words: provision; prologue; proceed; produce; protract; procathedral; proconsul.

Origin:
< Latin prō-, pro-, combining form representing prō pro¹

a prefix identical in meaning with pro-¹, , occurring in words borrowed from Greek (prodrome) or formed of Greek (and occasionally Latin) elements.

Origin:
< Greek, combining form of pró for, before; see pro¹

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World English Dictionary

pro¹ (prəʊ)

—*adv*
1.	Compare anti in favour of a motion, issue, course of action, etc

—*prep*
2.	in favour of

—n , pros
3.	(usually plural) See also pros and cons an argument or vote in favour of a proposal or motion
4.	(usually plural) a person who votes in favour of a proposal, motion, etc

[from Latin prō (prep) in favour of]

pro² (prəʊ)

—n , pl pros
1.	informal short for professional

—*the internet domain name for*
2.	professional practitioner

—n
3.	slang a prostitute

—*adj*
4.	informal short for professional

[C19: by shortening]

PRO

—*abbreviation for*
1.	Public Records Office
2.	public relations officer

pro-¹

—*prefix*
1.	in favour of; supporting: pro-Chinese
2.	acting as a substitute for: proconsul; pronoun

[from Latin prō (adv and prep). In compound words borrowed from Latin, prō- indicates: forward, out (project); forward and down (prostrate); away from a place (prodigal); onward in time or space (proceed); extension outwards (propagate); before in time or place (provide, protect); on behalf of (procure); acting as a substitute for (pronominal); and sometimes intensive force (promiscuous)]

pro-²

—*prefix*
	before in time or position; anterior; forward: prophase; procephalic; prognathous

[from Greek pro (prep) before (in time, position, rank, etc)]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

pro-

prefix meaning "before, forward, in favor of, in place of," from L. pro "on behalf of, in place of, before, for," also in some cases from cognate Gk. pro "before, in front of," both from PIE *pro-, extended form of base *por- "forward, through" (cf. Skt. para "beyond," pra- "before, forward, forth;"

Gk. paros "before," para- "from beside, against, beyond;" Goth. faura "before," O.E. fore "before, for, on account of," fram "forward, from"). Pro and con is attested from c.1400, short for pro and contra "for and against" (L. pro et contra).

pro

1866, shortening of professional. The adj. is first recorded 1932. Pro-am "including professionals and amateurs" is from 1949.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

Pro abbr.
proline

pro- pref.

Earlier; before; prior to: progenitor.
Rudimentary: pronucleus.
Anterior; in front of: procephalic.

Slang Dictionary

pro definition

n.
a professional (at anything); someone as good as a professional. : When it comes to typing, he's a pro.

Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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American Heritage

Abbreviations & Acronyms

pro

professional
prostitute

PRO

peer review organization
professional review organization
pronoun
public relations officer

Example sentences

One of the results has been a growing pro-industry bias in medical

research-exactly where such bias doesn't belong.

So if your a pro-lifer and have any moral integrity nuclear power plants

wouldn't even be on the table.

And yet, lurking underneath the anti-spending, pro-tax-cutting cant is one idea

that might truly have merit.

Tips and techniques from a design pro for scoring the best vintage and antique

shopping deals.

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Matching Quote

"The essential is to go on squirming forever at the end of the line, as long as there are waters and banks and ravening in heaven a sporting God to plague his creature, per pro his chosen shits."

-Samuel Beckett