You can approach a better understanding of this word, and an approximation of its history, if you recognize its two cousins in this sentence. Proximate derives from Latin proximatus, itself the past participle of the verb proximare, meaning "to approach." The noun "approximation" and both the noun and verb "approximate" derive from "proximare" (via the Late Latin verb approximare). "Proximare," in turn, comes from "proximus" ("nearest, next") and can be traced back to the adjective prope, meaning "near." "Prope" is also an ancestor of the English verb "approach," as well as "proximity," "propinquity," and "reproach."
the proximate cause of the fire the proximate publication of his first novel
Recent Examples on the WebWas there any thematic reason for having the characters be so physically proximate to each other? Patrick Brzeski, The Hollywood Reporter, 31 Aug. 2022 The existence of horror is inevitably proximate to the existence of wondrous possibility.New York Times, 14 June 2022 So all of these kind of enablers, the logistics, all of these things that are kind of proximate indicators.CBS News, 16 Feb. 2022 For many years, they were bumped to the back of the line, their applications rejected in favor of refugees from more urgent and proximate conflicts, like that in Syria.New York Times, 5 Feb. 2022 Silo off parts of your home where your phone is not physically proximate, such as the dinner table and the bedroom. Arthur C. Brooks, The Atlantic, 7 Oct. 2021 The fact that Taiwan is so physically proximate to the PRC only emphasizes how different their political systems are, and how much more closely aligned Taiwan is with the US on a number of these core values. Lanhee J. Chen, CNN, 15 Apr. 2021 The proximate cause of the unrest being police violence and the underlying issues that have fueled the protests, which are continued racial equality and discrimination and socioeconomic exclusion, are really at the heart of both. Olivia B. Waxman, Time, 2 June 2020 The proximate cause was the killing of George Floyd, an unarmed, handcuffed African-American man, by a Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin. Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 1 June 2020 See More
Word History
Etymology
Latin proximatus, past participle of proximare to approach, from proximus nearest, next, superlative of prope near — more at approach