You Are a Real "Pro" at Vocabulary Quiz

Answer:

PROBITY (noun) - This is the quality of being truthful and never telling lies. In other words, honesty. Hence in the story I wrote, Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of this United, was famous for his honesty. This word comes from the Latin word "probus", which means honesty.

PROCRASTINATE (verb) - To procrastinate means to put things off for later. Doing so can result in stressful situations where more work piles up. This one's origins, also from Latin, are a little more complicated. First, the prefix "pro-" (forward) and the word "crastinus" (for tomorrow) are combined to make "procrastinate".

PROCLIVITY (noun) - This means inclination, or instinct. Instinct is what comes naturally to you, what you should do in certain situations. Animals, for example, live by their instincts. This one also comes from Latin, where the original word is "proclivis", literally meaning "sloping forward".

PROCLUS (proper noun) - Proclus is a Greek philosopher, born in Constantinople. His full name is Proclus Lycius and he wrote "The Elements of Philosophy".

PROCTOR (noun) - A proctor is a supervisor or monitor. Like, a babysitter or a teacher, whose job it is to watch children. Yet another word coming from Latin, where the initial term is "procurator", meaning an administrator.

PROLEGOMENON (noun) - A prolegomenon is factual introduction to a bigger work like an essay or a book. This word comes straight from Greek, in which it is a noun version of the verb to say beforehand.

PROXIMITY (noun) - Proximity means "within the space of". For example, you shouldn't keep gasoline in the proximity of fire. This one also has Latin roots, from the word "proximus", which means "nearest" or "next to".

PROSAIC (adjective) - Prosaic means a variety of things, like dull, unimaginative, and ordinary. It originated from the Latin word "prosa", which means straightforward and un-elaborated.

PROSTRATE (verb) - To prostrate yourself means to bow down low, or lay on the ground. People prostrate themselves to royalty, gods, people they respect, etc. Yes, yes, another Latin word "prostratus" makes up this one's roots. It means "thrown down".

PROPOLIS (noun) - This is also known as "bee glue" because the bees use it to seal off holes in their hive. It comes from mixing saliva with beeswax and sap from plants.