What is a Professor

In one sense this is a silly question. A Professor is the leading expert in a certain area in a University - the ultimate expert on the subject. But why is s/he called Professor? Why don't we refer to him as the 'Senior Control Engineer' or the 'Director of Control Engineering' or more prosaically as the 'Head of Control Engineering'. Where does the word 'Professor' come from and when was it first used?

A search in the Oxford Dictionary reveals that the word 'professor' comes from Latin, its ancestor being 'profiteor', which means 'to declare or acknowledge openly'. From this the Latin word 'professor' is derived, meaning 'an authority'. Other modern words from the same stable include 'profess', 'professional' and 'profession'. (According to the Oxford dictionary the word 'Professoress' also exists - but has fallen out of use. There is also a 'Professordom' - the habitat of Professors.) It seems pretty reasonable to conclude that a professor is an authority or expert, but how and when did 'professor' become associated with University teaching? This could not have occurred until after Universities had come into existence.

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