purpose

English Online Dictionary. What means purpose‎? What does purpose mean?

English

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈpɝpəs/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈpɜːpəs/
• Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)pəs
• (Hong Kong) IPA^(key): /ˈpɜ.pəs/, (proscribed) /ˈpɜ.poʊs/

Etymology 1

From Middle English purpos, from Old French purposer (“to propose”) (with conjugation altered based on poser), from Latin prō- (“forth”) + pōnere (“place, put”), hence Latin prōpōnō, prōpōnere.

Noun

purpose (countable and uncountable, plural purposes)

1. The end for which something is done, is made or exists.

   Synonym: end
2. Function, role.
3. (Sense of having a) meaning for existing or doing something.

   Synonym: meaning
4. Resolution; determination.
5. (obsolete) The subject of discourse; the point at issue.

Synonyms

• (end, goal): aim, goal, object, target; See also Thesaurus:goal
• (intention): aim, plan, intention; See also Thesaurus:intention
• (determination): determination, intention, resolution
• (subject of discourse): matter, subject, topic
• (reason for doing something): reason

Hyponyms

• common purpose
• metapurpose

Derived terms

Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English purposen, from Old French purposer (“to propose”).

Verb

purpose (third-person singular simple present purposes, present participle purposing, simple past and past participle purposed)

1. (transitive) To have or set as one's purpose or aim; resolve to accomplish; intend; plan.
   • 1485 – Thomas Malory. Le Morte Darthur, Book X, Chapter xxxvi, leaf 235v

     Soo was Alysander purposed to ryde to london by the coūceille of sire Tristram to syre Launcelot /

     "So was Alisander purposed to ride to London, by the counsel of Sir Tristram, to Sir Launcelot."
2. (intransitive) To have (an) intention, purpose, or design; to intend; to mean.
3. (obsolete, intransitive) To discourse.

Synonyms

• (have set as one's purpose): aim, intend, mean, plan, set out
• (designed for some purpose): intended

Derived terms

• purposed
• purposer
• purposive
• on purpose

Translations

References

• “purpose”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• “purpose”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
• “purpose”, in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin, 2000, →ISBN.
• "purpose" in WordNet 2.0, Princeton University, 2003.

Middle English

Noun

purpose

1. Alternative form of porpeys