prose

• n. 散文; 単調な
• adj.散文；ありふれた；退屈な
• vi.散文を書く；退屈な話をする
• vt.散文にする

古フランス語の散文、物語、ラテン語のprosa oratioから、詩的な言葉を用いないストレートな物語、provorsusから、pro-, forward, -vorse, to turn, 対詩と語源的には同じである。

provorsusは、pro-, forward, -vorse, to turnからきており、語源的にはverse, versusと同じ。oratioは、oratorと語源的には同じで、物語る、語る。

prose

prose: [14] Prose is etymologically ‘straightforward discourse’ (as opposed to the more sophisticated discourse of poetry). The term comes via Old French prose from Latin prōsa, which was short for prōsa ōrātiō ‘straightforward discourse’. Prōsus ‘straightforward, direct’ was a contraction of an earlier prōversus, the past participle of prōvertere ‘turn forward’. This was a compound verb formed from the prefix prō- ‘forward’ and vertere ‘turn’ (source of English verse, version, etc).
=> verse, version

prose (n.)

c. 1300, "story, narration," from Old French prose (13c.), from Latin prosa oratio "straightforward or direct speech" (without the ornaments of verse), from prosa, fem. of prosus, earlier prorsus "straightforward, direct," from Old Latin provorsus "(moving) straight ahead," from pro- "forward" (see pro-) + vorsus "turned," past participle of vertere "to turn" (see verse).

"Good prose, to say nothing of the original thoughts it conveys, may be infinitely varied in modulation. It is only an extension of metres, an amplification of harmonies, of which even the best and most varied poetry admits but few." [Walter Savage Landor, "Imaginary Conversations"]

Meaning "prose writing; non-poetry" is from mid-14c. The sense of "dull or commonplace expression" is from 1680s, out of earlier sense "plain expression" (1560s). Those who lament the want of an English agent noun to correspond to poet might try prosaist (1776), proser (1620s), or Frenchified prosateur (1880), though the first two in their day also acquired in English the secondary sense "dull writer."

1. His prose is vigorous and dense，occasionally to the point of obscurity.

彼の散文は力強く、内容は複雑で、時には難解に近い。

2.Her prose style is not always felicitous ; she tends to repetition.

彼女の文章スタイルはいつもちょうどいいものではなく、繰り返しがちだ。

3.He discoursed for several hours on French and English prose .

彼はフランスとイギリスのエッセイを数時間かけて語った。

4.The prose of his official communications was so laboured,pompous and verbose.彼の書いた公文書は派手で、長い話をしている。

5.John Lennon found time to publish two books of his humorous prose .

ジョン?レノンは時間を割いてユーモアの散文を2冊出版した。