Word.ws English Dictionary

proffer

Syllables: prof·ferUK/ˈpɹɒfə(ɹ)//ˈpɹɑfɚ/

proffer noun: an offer made; something proposed for acceptance by another; a tender.

Noun

proffer (plural proffers)

  1. An offer made; something proposed for acceptance by another; a tender.
    • [T]heir ovvn eies vvilbe perhaps more curious iudges, out of heareſay they may have builded many conceites, vvhich I can not perchaunce vvil not performe, then vvil vndeſerued repentance be a greater ſhame and iniurie vnto me, then their vndeſerued proffer, is honour.a. 1587, Philip Sidney, “The Fifth Booke”, in [Mary Sidney], editor, The Countesse of Pembrokes Arcadia […] [The New Arcadia], London: […] [John Windet] for William Ponsonbie, published 1593, →OCLC...
    • Her lips, man, her lips! and that's a proffer I would not make to every one who crosses my threshold. But, by good St Valentine, (whose holiday will dawn to-morrow,) I am so glad to see thee in the bonny city of Perth again, that it would be hard to tell the thing I could refuse thee.1828 May 15, [Walter Scott], chapter II, in Chronicles of the Canongate. Second Series. […] (The Fair Maid of Perth), volume I, Edinburgh: […] [Ballantyne and Co.] for Cadell and Co.; London: Simpkin...
    Synonyms:
    proposition
  2. (obsolete) An attempt, an essay.
    • [A]fter ſome reſiſtance with ſhotte and arrowes, and profer of onſet made by their horſemen, they were put to flight, [...]1577, Raphaell Holinshed, “Queene Marie”, in The Laste Volume of the Chronicles of England, Scotlande, and Irelande […], volume II, London: […] for Iohn Hunne, →OCLC, page 1725, column 2
    • It is a Thing ſtrange in Nature, when it is attentiuely conſidered, How Children and ſome Birds, learne to imitate Speech. [...] It is true, that it is done with time, and by little and little, and with many Eſſayes and Proffers: But all this diſchargeth not the VVonder.1631, Francis [Bacon], “III. Century. [Experiment in Consort Touching the Imitation of Sound.]”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries. […], 3rd edition, London: […] William...

Verb

proffer (third-person singular simple present proffers, present participle proffering, simple past and past participle proffered)

  1. (reflexive, transitive) To offer for acceptance; to propose to give; to make a tender of.
    • to proffer friendship, a gift, or services
    • Cæſar in this hath offered like himſelfe, / He proffereth to preſerue your tovvne vntouch'd: / Your goods, your vviues, your liues, your liberties: […]1607 February 12 (first performance; Gregorian calendar), [Barnabe Barnes], The Divils Charter: A Tragædie Conteining the Life and Death of Pope Alexander the Sixt. […], London: […] G[eorge] E[ld]...
  2. (obsolete, transitive) To attempt or essay of one's own accord; to undertake or propose to undertake.
    • [N]one among the choice and prime / Of thoſe Heav'n-warring Champions could be found / So hardie as to proffer or accept / Alone the dreadful voyage; [...]1667, John Milton, “Book II”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished...

Proper noun capitalized: Proffer

Proffer (plural Proffers)

  1. A surname.

proffer meaning in Urdu, Bengali, Malayalam and Kannada

proffer in Urdu

پیش خدمت کرنا, پیش کرنا

proffer in Bengali

প্রস্তাব করা, নিবেদন করা

proffer in Malayalam

കൊടുക്കാൻ നീട്ടുക, മുതിരുക, പുറപ്പെടുക, അർപ്പിക്കുക

proffer in Kannada

ನೀಡಲು ಮುಂದಾಗು, ನೀಡು, ಅರ್ಪಿಸು, ಸಮರ್ಪಿಸು

Examples of proffer in a sentence

  • [H]ow, if you tell him this, will you make him understand that I say so as an act of justice, and not in the least as a proffer of affection?1886, George Bernard Shaw, chapter XIII, in Cashel Byron’s Profession. […], London: The Modern Press, […], →OCLC, page 144:
  • "Oh no," she refused demurely at their proffer of coffee.1980 August 2, Andrea F. Loewenstein, “Random Lust”, in Gay Community News, page 15:
  • Thou proffers me of thy wages to have: / I thee defy, power, and all the leave, / That helps thee here of thy ſtout nation.1665, [“Blind Harry”], chapter I, in The Life and Acts of the Most Famous and Valiant Champion, Sir William Wallace, Knight of Ellerslie...
  • If a Man, proffering to ſell Grain for Seed, ſhould ſell Grain which is not fit for Seed, the Magiſtrate ſhall chaſtiſe him, and take a Fine according to the Offence.1776, “Chap. XVII. Of Theft.”, in Nathaniel Brassey Halhed, transl., A Code of Gentoo Laws, or, Ordinations of the Pundits, […], London...

All 22 example sentences with proffer

Synonyms of proffer

Forms of proffer

Noun
pluralproffers
alternative formprofre
alternative formproffre
Verb
third-person singular presentproffers
present participleproffering
past participleproffered
pastproffered
Proper noun
pluralProffers

Origin of proffer

The noun is derived from Middle English profre (“act of offering or presenting a gift; offer of something; challenge; sacrifice; act of petitioning or requesting; petition, request; proposal, suggestion; idea, thought; attempt, effort; appearance; (law) payment to the Exchequer by a sheriff or other officer of estimated revenue due to the monarch”) [and other forms], and then: * partly from Late Latin profrum, proferum (“payment to the Exchequer of estimated revenue due to the monarch (also puruoffrus), offer to convict a criminal”), and from its likely etymon Anglo-Norman profre, proffre, porofre (“payment to the Exchequer of estimated revenue due to the monarch; offer, proposal”), and * partly from the verb. The verb is derived from Late Middle English prouffer, prouffre, Middle English profren, profer, proffere (“to offer, propose; to deliver, hand over, present; to take up; to volunteer; to dedicate; to attempt, try; to risk; to challenge; to provide; to ask, invite; to proceed, start; to grant; to argue”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman profrer, proferer, profferer, proffrir, propherer, proufrir, and Old French proferir, proffrir, profrir (“to offer, propose; to present...

Words formed from proffer

Phrases with proffer

Words that rhyme with proffer

Questions about proffer

What does proffer mean?
Proffer means an offer made; something proposed for acceptance by another; a tender.
What is proffer in Urdu?
Proffer in Urdu is پیش خدمت کرنا, پیش کرنا. See Proffer meaning in Urdu.
How do you use proffer in a sentence?
[H]ow, if you tell him this, will you make him understand that I say so as an act of justice, and not in the least as a proffer of affection?
What part of speech is proffer?
Proffer can be a noun, a verb or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce proffer?
Proffer is pronounced /ˈpɹɒfə(ɹ)/ (UK).
What is the plural of proffer?
The plural of proffer is proffers.

Words near proffer in the dictionary

  1. profestrix
  2. Profeta
  3. Profetas
  4. proffee
  5. proffees
  6. proffer
  7. proffer letter
  8. proffer letters
  9. proffer up
  10. proffered
  11. proffered up

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: proffer (page history and authors); Proffer (page history and authors); proffer (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); proffer (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); proffer (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); proffer (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-proffer.ogg.

Cite this entry: “proffer.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/proffer. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.