'Prophet' is Greek for 'one who speaks forth' — a divine spokesperson, not primarily a future-teller.
A person regarded as an inspired teacher or proclaimer of the will of God; one who foretells future events.
From Old French 'prophete,' from Latin 'prophēta,' from Greek 'prophētēs' (προφήτης), meaning one who speaks forth or on behalf of another, an interpreter of a god's will. Formed from 'pro-' (before, forth, on behalf of) + 'phēnai' (φηναι, to speak, to declare), from the root 'phē-/pha-' (to speak, to say), from PIE *bʰeh₂- (to speak, to say, to shine forth with words). This root produced Greek 'phēmē' (φήμη, spoken word, rumour — 'fame,' 'infamy'), 'phōnē' (φωνή, voice — 'phone,' 'phoneme,' 'phonics'); Latin 'fārī' (to speak — 'fable,' 'fate,' 'infant' — literally 'one not yet speaking'), 'fāma' (rumour, report — 'fame'), and 'fātum' (what has been spoken by fate, destiny
The Greek prefix 'pro-' in 'prophet' is commonly misunderstood as meaning 'before' (in time), suggesting that a prophet is primarily a predictor of the future. In fact, 'pro-' here means 'forth' or 'on behalf of' — a prophet is fundamentally a spokesperson, someone who speaks forth God's message, not necessarily a fortune-teller.