Prose
The word "prose" first appears in English in the 14th century. It is derived from the Old French "prose", which in turn originates in the Latin expression "prosa oratio" (literally, straightforward or direct speech).
Proa
The word "proa" comes from "perahu", the word for "boat" in Malay ("paraw" in similar Borneo–Philippine languages and "prau" in Javanese), which are similar to the Micronesian language group. Found in many configurations and forms, the proa was likely developed as a sailing vessel in Micronesia (Pacific Ocean). Variations may be found as distant as Madagascar and Sri Lanka, as far back as the first century. Such vessels go by many names, and "perahu" is a generic umbrella term for any boat smaller than a ship. However, until at least to the 17th century, perahu refers to large ships (see K'un-lun po), until replaced by kapal (which is modern Malay and Indonesian word for "ship" borrowed from Tamil ) some time after, whereas the smaller boat is called sampan (from Chinese ).