Where does “motor” come from?
motor (Dutch) comes from Dutch engel, from Middle Dutch engel, from Old Dutch engil, from Latin Angelus, from Ancient Greek ἄγγελος, from Old Norse engill, from Old Saxon engil, from Proto-West Germanic angil — angel; messenger.
motor (Dutch): engine; motorbike
Definitions
- engine; motorbike
Ancestry of “motor”, step by step
motor traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Dutch engel
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dutch | engel | angel |
| 2 | Middle Dutch | engel | angel, servant of God; fallen angel |
| 3 | Old Dutch | engil | — |
| 4 | Latin | Angelus | angel |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | ἄγγελος | a messenger; one that announces; angel, heavenly... |
| 6 | Old Norse | engill | angel |
| 7 | Old Saxon | engil | angel |
| 8 | Proto-West Germanic | angil | angel |
| 9 | Latin | angelus | angel; messenger |
via English motor
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | motor | A machine or device that converts other energy... |
| 2 | Middle English | motour | — |
| 3 | Latin | motor | mover; that which moves something; first-person... |
| 4 | Latin | -tor | -er |
| 5 | Proto-Italic | -tōr | Forms agent nouns to verb stems |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | -tōr | Derives agent nouns from verbs, denoting someone... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -tor-s | — |