The act of encouraging someone to do something, or reminding an actor of their lines during a performance.
From 'prompt,' derived from Latin 'promptus' meaning 'ready or prepared,' from 'promere' (to bring forth). The word developed from meaning 'immediate' to meaning 'to move someone to immediate action.'
In theater, the 'prompter' was once a crucial role—someone hidden from view whispering forgotten lines to actors! Now with modern scripts and memorization, the prompter is nearly extinct, but the word survives in 'prompting someone' to action.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.