profano

See also: profanó and profanò

Catalan

Verb

profano

1. first-person singular present indicative of profanar

Galician

Verb

profano

1. first-person singular present indicative of profanar

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /proˈfa.no/
• Rhymes: -ano
• Hyphenation: pro‧fà‧no

Etymology 1

From Latin profānus.

Adjective

profano (feminine profana, masculine plural profani, feminine plural profane)

1. profane
2. ignorant, unskilled

Derived terms

• profanamente

Related terms

• profanare
• profanità

Noun

profano m (invariable)

1. the profane

   Antonym: sacro

Noun

profano m (plural profani, feminine profana)

1. layman

Etymology 2

Verb

profano

1. first-person singular present indicative of profanare

Further reading

• profano in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

Latin

Etymology

In sense 1, from pro (“in front of, before”) +‎ fānum (“temple”) +‎ -ō. In senses 2-3, from profānus (“profane, secular”) +‎ -ō.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [prɔˈfaː.noː]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [proˈfaː.no]

Verb

profānō (present infinitive profānāre, perfect active profānāvī, supine profānātum); first conjugation

1. to offer (in front of a temple, shrine, etc.)
2. to desecrate, profane
3. to violate, pollute

Conjugation

   Conjugation of profānō (first conjugation)

indicative		singular						plural
		first		second		third		first		second		third
active	present	profānō		profānās		profānat		profānāmus		profānātis		profānant
	imperfect	profānābam		profānābās		profānābat		profānābāmus		profānābātis		profānābant
	future	profānābō		profānābis		profānābit		profānābimus		profānābitis		profānābunt
	perfect	profānāvī		profānāvistī		profānāvit		profānāvimus		profānāvistis		profānāvērunt, profānāvēre
	pluperfect	profānāveram		profānāverās		profānāverat		profānāverāmus		profānāverātis		profānāverant
	future perfect	profānāverō		profānāveris		profānāverit		profānāverimus		profānāveritis		profānāverint
passive	present	profānor		profānāris, profānāre		profānātur		profānāmur		profānāminī		profānantur
	imperfect	profānābar		profānābāris, profānābāre		profānābātur		profānābāmur		profānābāminī		profānābantur
	future	profānābor		profānāberis, profānābere		profānābitur		profānābimur		profānābiminī		profānābuntur
	perfect	profānātus + present active indicative of sum
	pluperfect	profānātus + imperfect active indicative of sum
	future perfect	profānātus + future active indicative of sum
subjunctive		singular						plural
		first		second		third		first		second		third
active	present	profānem		profānēs		profānet		profānēmus		profānētis		profānent
	imperfect	profānārem		profānārēs		profānāret		profānārēmus		profānārētis		profānārent
	perfect	profānāverim		profānāverīs		profānāverit		profānāverīmus		profānāverītis		profānāverint
	pluperfect	profānāvissem		profānāvissēs		profānāvisset		profānāvissēmus		profānāvissētis		profānāvissent
passive	present	profāner		profānēris, profānēre		profānētur		profānēmur		profānēminī		profānentur
	imperfect	profānārer		profānārēris, profānārēre		profānārētur		profānārēmur		profānārēminī		profānārentur
	perfect	profānātus + present active subjunctive of sum
	pluperfect	profānātus + imperfect active subjunctive of sum
imperative		singular						plural
		first		second		third		first		second		third
active	present	—		profānā		—		—		profānāte		—
	future	—		profānātō		profānātō		—		profānātōte		profānantō
passive	present	—		profānāre		—		—		profānāminī		—
	future	—		profānātor		profānātor		—		—		profānantor
non-finite forms		infinitive						participle
		active			passive			active			passive
present		profānāre			profānārī			profānāns			—
future		profānātūrum esse			profānātum īrī			profānātūrus			profānandus
perfect		profānāvisse			profānātum esse			—			profānātus
future perfect		—			profānātum fore			—			—
perfect potential		profānātūrum fuisse			—			—			—
verbal nouns		gerund								supine
		genitive		dative		accusative		ablative		accusative		ablative
		profānandī		profānandō		profānandum		profānandō		profānātum		profānātū

Descendants

• Catalan: profanar
• English: profane
• French: profaner
• Friulian: profanâ
• Galician: profanar
• Italian: profanare
• Occitan: profanar
• Piedmontese: profané
• Portuguese: profanar
• Romanian: profana
• Spanish: profanar

Adjective

profānō

1. dative/ablative masculine/neuter singular of profānus

References

• “profano”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “profano”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “profano”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• “prōfanō” on page 1622 of the Oxford Latin Dictionary (2nd ed., 2012)

Portuguese

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /pɾoˈfɐ̃.nu/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /pɾoˈfɐ̃.nu/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /pɾoˈfɐ.no/

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /pɾuˈfɐ.nu/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /pɾuˈfɐ.nu/
  • (Northern Portugal) IPA^(key): /pɾuˈfa.nu/

• Hyphenation: pro‧fa‧no

Etymology 1

Portuguese Wikipedia has an article on:

profano

Wikipedia ^pt

Learned borrowing from Latin profānus (“not religious, unclean”), from prō- (“before”) +‎ fānum (“temple”).

Adjective

profano (feminine profana, masculine plural profanos, feminine plural profanas)

1. profane; unholy (desecrating a holy place or thing)

   Synonyms: blasfemador, blasfemo, herege, herético, ímpio

   Antonyms: sacro, sagrado, santo

2. profane; secular (not relating to religion)

   Synonyms: laico, leigo, mundano, secular, temporal

   Antonyms: eclesiástico, religioso

Noun

profano m (plural profanos, feminine profana, feminine plural profanas)

1. one who is profane (desecrating a holy place or thing)

   Synonym: profanador

Related terms

• profanado
• profanador
• profanamente
• profanar
• profanatório
• profanável
• profanete
• profanidade

Etymology 2

Verb

profano

1. first-person singular present indicative of profanar

Further reading

• “profano”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2025
• “profano”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2025

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pɾoˈfano/ [pɾoˈfa.no]
• Rhymes: -ano
• Syllabification: pro‧fa‧no

Etymology 1

From Latin profānus.

Adjective

profano (feminine profana, masculine plural profanos, feminine plural profanas)

1. profane; unholy (desecrating a holy place or thing)
2. profane; secular (not relating to religion)
3. inexperienced, amateur

   Synonym: inexperto

Derived terms

• profanamente

Related terms

• profanar
• profanidad

Noun

profano m (plural profanos, feminine profana, feminine plural profanas)

1. amateur

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

profano

1. first-person singular present indicative of profanar

Further reading

• “profano”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025