Word Origin Atlas

Exact historical dictionary sense

Profile in Webster's 1913 dictionary

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

WEBSTER 1913noun
Profile

[It. profilo, fr. L. pro before + filum a thread, an outline, shape: cf. F. profil. See File arow, and cf. Purfle, Purl, a fringe.]

Cross-verified historical sense
The source text may be outdated. The page preserves that historical boundary.
Cross-verified 1913 record
Headwordprofile
Part of speechnoun
Historical etymology[It. profilo, fr. L. pro before + filum a thread, an outline, shape: cf. F. profil. See File arow, and cf. Purfle, Purl, a fringe.]
Selected historical definitionAn outline, or contour; as, the profile of an apple.
Signed record IDwebster1913-profile-noun-5aeaa1155454
Source locatorCIDE.P, paragraph 15386; 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), "profile" is labeled noun. Its etymology is recorded as: "[It. profilo, fr. L. pro before + filum a thread, an outline, shape: cf. F. profil. See File arow, and cf. Purfle, Purl, a fringe.]" The selected historical definition says: "An outline, or contour; as, the profile of an apple."

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 recordnoun

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Webster 1913 exact recordverb

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[Cf. F. placer. See Place, n.]

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Power

[OE. pouer, poer, OF. poeir, pooir, F. pouvoir, n. & v., fr. LL. potere, for L. posse, potesse, to be able, to have power. See Possible, Potent, and cf. Posse comitatus.]

Webster 1913 exact record

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