The masculine noun ‘προφήτης’ (prophētēs, pronunciation: prof-áy-tace [1] ) is a compound word of the prefix ‘προ-‘ (pro- ) the verb ‘φημί’ ( phēmi, definition: to speak) and the masculine suffix -της (-tēs). [2][3]
The prefix ‘pro- ‘ has multiple meanings and in this specific word can either mean “before” in a time context or it can mean “in front of” in a spatial context. [4]
Taking into account the different meanings of the prefix ‘pro-‘ we can interpret the word ‘prophet’ as the person who is foretelling future events, or the person who speaks in front of others to say the words of God. [4]
[1] Key Word Study Bible AMG Publishers.
[2] https://el.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/%CF%80%CF%81%CE%BF%CF%86%CE%AE%CF%84%CE%B7%CF%82
[3] https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/%CF%80%CF%81%CE%BF%CF%86%CE%AE%CF%84%CE%B7%CF%82