Word Origin Atlas

Exact historical dictionary sense

Professor in Webster's 1913 dictionary

The 1913 record labels professor as noun. Its source-bounded etymology and selected historical definition appear below.

WEBSTER 1913noun
Professor

[L., a teacher, a public teacher: cf. F. professeur. See Profess.]

Cross-verified historical sense
The source text may be outdated. The page preserves that historical boundary.
Cross-verified 1913 record
Headwordprofessor
Part of speechnoun
Historical etymology[L., a teacher, a public teacher: cf. F. professeur. See Profess.]
Selected historical definitionOne who professed, or makes open declaration of, his sentiments or opinions; especially, one who makes a public avowal of his belief in the Scriptures and his faith in Christ, and thus unites himself to the visible church.
Signed record IDwebster1913-professor-noun-ec23c9467d1f
Source locatorCIDE.P, paragraph 15365; Gutenberg eBook 666
Edition-scoped answerNot earliest-attestation proofNot modern consensus
Independent historical textProject Gutenberg section 666Signed structural record sourceGNU GCIDE 0.54 archive
Quick answer

In Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), "professor" is labeled noun. Its etymology is recorded as: "[L., a teacher, a public teacher: cf. F. professeur. See Profess.]" The selected historical definition says: "One who professed, or makes open declaration of, his sentiments or opinions; especially, one who makes a public avowal of his belief in the Scriptures and his faith in Christ, and thus unites himself to the visible church."

Project Gutenberg Webster 1913 plus signed GNU GCIDE 0.54 Exact cross-verified historical record reviewed 2026-10-04

What this answer proves

One named sense in one historical dictionary edition.

The answer reports the selected headword, part of speech, etymology, definition, and source locator as transcribed in the cross-verified 1913 record.

Evidence boundaryIt does not establish the earliest attestation or a complete borrowing chain.It does not claim current scholarly consensus or a modern dictionary definition.Historical dictionary text may be obsolete, incomplete, inaccurate, or offensive by modern standards.

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Webster 1913 exact record

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