Pronounced: PROSS-puh-roh, noun
Notes: I know who this is, but not what the word means
Yesterday’s word
The word declivity means
- downward inclination
- a descending slope
First usage
Our word came into English in the early 1600s
Background / Comments
Our word (the main root) came from the Latin word clivus (slope; hill). There are three English words that come from the same root, but having different prefixes. Probably the most common of these words is “proclivity” with the prefix pro- (forward) and thus refers to a personal predisposition or leaning. The other word is acclivity using the prefix ad- (to; toward) and thus is “an upward slope”. Our word has the prefix de- (down; away) and thus the definition.
Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day 