Pro

#etymology #usage Published: 2021-11-25

Have you ever watched the American TV series Suits? It contains a lot of legal terms, and it is not easy to understand the plots completely (I think most people can enjoy it without understanding it fully though). If you happen to have watched some episodes, you may be familiar with the expression “pro bono” or “quid pro quo”. Both are of Latin origin and also include “pro”.

In Latin, “pro” is a preposition, which basically means “for”. This preposition is followed by a noun in the ablative case. In this post, let me share four expressions with “pro”¹ that can appear in English sentences.

pro bono

This expression is short for “pro bono publico”², meaning “for the public good”. In Suits, they sometimes handle pro bono cases, in which they provide free legal services to those in need.

quid pro quo

“Quid pro quo”³ literally translates as “what for what” (since “quis” (meaning “what”) appears in different conjugations). This means “one thing in return for another”. In the U.S., it is sometimes used in the form “quid pro quo (sexual) harassment”. By the way, the title of S6:E15 is “Quid Pro Quo”.

pro se

As you may know, there’s a more common expression than “pro se”, which is “per se”, meaning “by itself, intrinsically”. So, it is easy to tell that “pro se” means “for oneself”. In English, this refers specifically to “representing oneself in court”⁴.

pro rata

One of the definitions by the Cambridge Dictionary is “calculated according to”. This expression is used in legal and economic contexts.

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