2183: Unrelated: improve vs. disprove Dec 6, 2020

Although broadly it could be said that 'improve' means to strengthen something while 'disprove' means to weak it, but the two words are not related, despite the apparent similar root. 'Improve' comes from the Latin 'prode' (advantageous) and is closer related to 'proud'—more on that tomorrow— and meant 'cause to profit', whereas 'disprove' is from the Old French 'prover' as in 'to test'. The spellings and pronunciation of 'improve' was however influenced by 'disprove' since before the 17th century it was uncommon to see it spelled with a -v-: rather it might be 'improu'. Indeed, its more general meaning did not come about until recently either, initially referring only to making something profitable as in "improving land" i.e. by clearing it for farming.