Other forms: prompted, prompting, prompts
Prompt means done straight away, with no delay. The reply that comes back the same afternoon.
As an adjective it praises speed and reliability at once: prompt payment, a prompt response, prompt action. It also describes people who arrive on time. The word has three other lives worth holding on to. As a verb, to prompt somebody is to make them do something, or to feed a line to an actor who has dried. As a noun, a prompt is that whispered line — and now also the instruction you type into a computer, which is where most people meet the word today.
1adjectivepromptDone without delay.
“Thank you for your prompt reply.”
2verbcauseTo cause someone to do something.
“The noise prompted her to look up.”
3verbsupplyTo supply a forgotten line to an actor or speaker.
“Someone offstage prompted him.”
4nouninstructionAn instruction or cue given to someone or something.
“He typed a prompt into the box.”
Prompt is brought forth. Latin prōmō joins prō, forward, to emō, to take, so something prompt has been produced at once, and prompting an actor is bringing the line out for them.
Latin
prōmptus — visible, apparent, evident
Middle French
prompt
Middle English
prompte
English, today
prompt
Built from
The adjective is from Middle English prompte, from Middle French prompt and its etymon Latin prōmptus (“visible, apparent, evident”), past participle of prōmō (“to take or bring out or forth, produce, bring to light”), from prō (“forth, forward”) + emō (“to take, acquire, buy”). a doublet of pronto. The verb is from Middle English prompen, apparently from the adjective. The noun is from the verb.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA