Where does “-er” come from?

-er (Dutch) comes from Old Dutch -āri, from Proto-Germanic -ārijaz, from Latin -ārius, from Proto-Italic *-āzios — Forms relational adjectives to nouns (and rarely numerals).

-er (Dutch): Forms agent nouns from verbs; Forms nouns for a...

Definitions

  1. Forms agent nouns from verbs; Forms nouns for a...

Ancestry of “-er”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Dutch-āri
2Proto-Germanic-ārijaz-er
3Latin-āriuser
4Proto-Italic*-āziosForms relational adjectives to nouns (and rarely numerals)

Words derived from “-er

Every word from Proto-Italic *-āzios
-er — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer