Can you help with the origin . . . ?
Posted by Bruce Kahl on March 25, 2001
In Reply to: Can you help with the origin . . . ? posted by LoobyBird on March 25, 2001
: of "pros and cons". I have searched just about every resource on the web and simply cannot find the origin of the phrase "pros and cons"?
From Merriam Webster:
Main Entry: 1pro
Pronunciation: 'prO
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural pros
Etymology: Middle English, from Latin, preposition, for -- more at FOR
Date: 15th century
1 : an argument or evidence in affirmation
2 : the affirmative side or one holding it
From a Latin Dictionary:
contra Adv. , [opposite, over against, on the opposite side]; of equivalence, [in return, back]; of difference, [otherwise]; of opposition,[against]. Prep. with acc., [opposite to, over against; against, in opposition to].