procure

See also: procuré and pro-cure

English

WOTD – 22 March 2007

Etymology

From Middle English procuren, from Old French procurer, from Late Latin prōcūrāre (“to manage, administer”), from prō (“on behalf of”) + cūrō (“to care for”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /pɹəˈkjʊə/, /pɹəˈkjɔː/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /pɹəˈkjʊɹ/, /pɹəˈkjɝ/

  • Audio (US):

    (file)

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ʊə(ɹ), -ɔː(ɹ)

Verb

procure (third-person singular simple present procures, present participle procuring, simple past and past participle procured)

1. (transitive) To acquire or obtain.

   Synonyms: get, gain, acquire, attain, obtain

   • 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 as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:

     if we procure not to ourselves more woe

   • 1943 November – 1944 February (date written; published 1945 August 17), George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], Animal Farm […], London: Secker & Warburg, published May 1962, →OCLC:

     Later there would also be need for seeds and artificial manures, besides various tools and, finally, the machinery for the windmill. How these were to be procured, no one was able to imagine.

   • 2025 February 5, Howard Johnston, “Regional News: Southern”, in RAIL, number 1028, page 22:

     Folkestone: Network Rail and the White Cliffs Countryside Project have procured a herd of goats to keep vegetation on the slopes of Folkestone Warren under control, and to encourage rare species.

2. (transitive) To obtain a person as a prostitute for somebody else.

   Synonyms: buy, purchase

3. (transitive, criminal law) To induce or persuade someone to do something.
4. (obsolete) To contrive; to bring about; to effect; to cause.
   • 1551, Thomas More, translated by Ralph Robinson, Utopia:

     By all means possible they procure to have gold and silver among them in reproach.

   • c. 1594 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Comedie of Errors”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i]:

     Proceed, Solinus, to procure my fall.

5. (obsolete) To solicit; to entreat.
   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto I”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 1:

     The famous Briton prince and faery knight, […] / Of the fair Alma greatly were procured / To make there lenger soiourne and abode.

6. (obsolete) To cause to come; to bring; to attract.
   • c. 1591–1595 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene v]:

     What unaccustomed cause procures her hither?

Conjugation

Conjugation of procure

infinitive	(to) procure
	present tense	past tense
1st-person singular	procure	procured
2nd-person singular	procure, procurest†	procured, procuredst†
3rd-person singular	procures, procureth†	procured
plural	procure
subjunctive	procure	procured
imperative	procure	—
participles	procuring	procured

^† Archaic or obsolete.

Related terms

• procurement
• procurer
• procuress
• procure to pay
• proxy

Translations

to acquire or obtain an item or service

• Bulgarian: получавам (bg) (polučavam), набавям си (nabavjam si)
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 獲得 / 获得 (wok⁶ dak¹)

• Dutch: verwerven (nl), verkrijgen (nl)
• Finnish: hankkia (fi)
• French: acquérir (fr), obtenir (fr)
• German: beschaffen (de), erwerben (de), besorgen (de), aufbringen (de), verschaffen (de), beibringen (de)
• Greek:

  Ancient: κτάομαι (ktáomai), πορίζομαι (porízomai)

• Hungarian: beszerez (hu), szerez (hu), megszerez (hu), szert tesz (hu)
• Italian: procurare (it), approvvigionare (it), acquistare (it), ottenere (it)
• Maori: haha, kaitaonga
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: skaffe (no), tilveiebringe

• Portuguese: obter (pt), conseguir (pt)
• Russian: достава́ть (ru) (dostavátʹ), добыва́ть (ru) (dobyvátʹ)
• Sanskrit: लभते (sa) (labhate)
• Swedish: skaffa (sv), införskaffa (sv), anskaffa (sv)
• Tocharian B: täk-
• Yiddish: דערקאַזשען (derkazhen)

to obtain a person as a prostitute for somebody else

• Bulgarian: своднича (svodniča)
• Finnish: parittaa (fi)
• French: proxénétisme (fr) m
• German: zuführen (de), kuppeln (de), vermitteln (de)
• Hungarian: kerít (hu)
• Russian: сводничать (ru) (svodničatʹ)

to induce or persuade someone to do something

• Finnish: yllyttää (fi)
• German: anstiften (de), verleiten (de), überreden (de)
• Polish: stręczyć (pl) impf
• Russian: подгова́ривать (ru) (podgovárivatʹ)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Czech: získat (cs)
• Dutch: verwerven (nl) (1); aanschaffen (nl) (2), schaffen (nl)
• French: procurer (fr)
• German: beschaffen (de), besorgen (de)
• Icelandic: útvega
• Italian: procurare (it), procacciare (it), ottenere (it)
• Polish: wystarać się, sprokurować (pl)
• Slovene: preskrbeti, dobiti, nabaviti

References

• Douglas Harper (2001–2025) “procure”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

Anagrams

• crouper

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pʁɔ.kyʁ/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Homophones: procurent, procures

Verb

procure

1. inflection of procurer:
   1. first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
   2. second-person singular imperative

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /proˈku.re/
• Rhymes: -ure
• Hyphenation: pro‧cù‧re

Noun

procure f

1. plural of procura

Portuguese

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: pro‧cu‧re

Verb

procure

1. inflection of procurar:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pɾoˈkuɾe/ [pɾoˈku.ɾe]
• Rhymes: -uɾe
• Syllabification: pro‧cu‧re

Verb

procure

1. inflection of procurar:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative