Procure

How to spell procure

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce procure

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does procure mean?

1. verbTo obtain or acquire something, especially through deliberate effort or arrangement.

Procure in a sentence

• The office manager managed to procure enough laptops for every new hire.

• It took weeks to procure the rare parts needed for the vintage engine.

Where does procure come from?

Language of origin: Latin

Procure comes from the Latin verb procurare, which literally meant 'to take care of' or 'to manage on behalf of someone'. It was built from the prefix pro-, here carrying the sense 'on behalf of' or 'for', and curare, meaning 'to care for' or 'to attend to', which itself grew from the noun cura, 'care'. In Roman usage a procurator was an official who managed affairs or estates for another, so the early flavour of the word was administrative rather than commercial. English borrowed it through Old French procurer in the 1300s, and over time the sense narrowed from 'managing to get something done' to the modern 'to obtain or acquire by effort'. The same cura root still sits inside familiar relatives such as 'cure', 'curator', and 'curious', and noticing the buried word 'cure' in the middle is a useful way to remember the spelling.

How the word is built

• pro- (on behalf of, forth)
• cure (from Latin curare: to care for, attend to)