What does prorogate mean?
Prorogate is a formal verb meaning to extend the time during which a legislative session, legal arrangement, or other specified period remains effective. It is especially associated with parliamentary and statutory language: a legislature may be prorogated, allowing business or a session to continue beyond the date otherwise set for its ending. Because the verb can imply both continuation and deferral of a deadline, it often carries a legal or institutional tone rather than the neutral feel of a general word such as continue. In contemporary English, prorogate is especially common in American usage, while the closely related variant prorogue is particularly associated with British parliamentary language. The word should not be confused with propagate, which means to spread or reproduce something. Although less frequent in everyday conversation, prorogate is useful because it precisely names the formal act of extending a session or making a deadline later, and it also evokes the historical procedures by which governments manage the duration of legislatures.
verbTo extend the time during which a legislative session, legal arrangement, or other specified period remains in force, especially by postponing its termination.
- To extend the duration of a legislative session or other legally specified period, especially by postponing its termination.
"The legislature agreed to prorogate its session until the pending appropriation bills had been voted on."
"The legislature agreed to prorogate its session until the pending appropriation bills had been voted on."
"The parties may prorogate the consultation deadline if further negotiations require additional time."
To prorogate is to make legal time stretch: a session or deadline receives an official extension.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does prorogate come from?
Prorogate comes from the Latin prorogare, formed from pro- (“forward”) and rogare (“ask” or “propose”), and originally meant “to defer” or “postpone.” The English word appeared in the late sixteenth century with this sense. The same Latin source produced prorogue and prorogation, while words such as abrogate and interrogate share the underlying Latin root rogare.
Related word forms
How prorogate is actually used
Formal and chiefly legal or parliamentary. Prorogate is especially common in American legal writing, while prorogue is particularly associated with British parliamentary usage.
Easily confused with prorogate
Prorogue is a variant of prorogate, especially associated with British parliamentary usage, rather than a word with a separate meaning.
Prorogate means to extend or postpone a period, whereas propagate means to spread, transmit, or reproduce something.