Props

How to spell props

5 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce props

What does props mean?

1. nounMovable objects used by actors during a play or film, short for theatrical properties.
2. nounRigid objects placed under or against something to hold it up.
3. nounDue respect or recognition given to someone, an informal usage.

Props in a sentence

• The actors rehearsed without their costumes or props.

• Timber props kept the tunnel roof from collapsing.

• The whole team deserves props for finishing ahead of schedule.

• A long table backstage held all the props for the second act.

• The gardener used wooden props to hold up the heavy branches.

• She earned serious props for staying calm under pressure.

Where does props come from?

Language of origin: Dutch

The singular 'prop' arrived in English in the late 1400s from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German 'proppe', meaning a stake or stick used to hold something up, such as a pole bracing a vine. From that literal sense of a physical support, English developed the verb 'to prop' and a host of compound uses. The theatrical meaning is a completely separate thread: there 'prop' is a clipped form of 'property', the term stagehands used for any movable object handled by actors, recorded from around 1840. The plural 'props' covers both, hence supports holding up a roof and the swords, cups and letters used on stage. In the late twentieth century a third, informal sense grew up in American slang, where 'props' is short for 'proper respect' or 'proper recognition', the credit you give someone for good work.

How the word is built

• prop (a support; or short for property)
• -s (plural)