prog
UK[prɒɡ]US[prɑːɡ]
v
To search for or collect food or useful items, often by foraging or scavenging.
v
To beg or seek alms.
n
Food obtained by foraging; provisions.
n
A proctor or official at certain universities, especially Oxford and Cambridge.
n
A progressive person, especially in politics.
Etymology
The verb 'prog,' meaning to forage or beg, likely originated in the 16th or 17th century as a slang term, possibly a variant of 'prag' or 'progue,' itself of obscure origin. Its use as a noun for a university official is a direct shortening of 'proctor,' a word of Latin origin ('procurator'). The political sense, meaning a progressive, emerged in the 20th century as a clipped form of 'progressive.' Thus, 'prog' represents a modern English pattern of creating concise, informal terms by abbreviating longer, more established words, with its meaning entirely dependent on which source word is being referenced.
Analysis
This word is a simplex. It is a clipped or altered form of longer words, primarily "proctor" and "progressive," and its development is not based on the combination of classical morphemes from its current spelling.
Examples
The badger would prog through the undergrowth for insects and roots.
In the old days, the poor would prog at the kitchen door for scraps.
He was known as a bit of a prog, always advocating for social reform.