Where does “-or” come from?
-or (English) comes from Middle English -our, from Old French -eor, from Latin -ator, from Latin -tor, from Proto-Italic -tōr, from Proto-Indo-European -tōr, from Proto-Indo-European -tor-s.
Ancestry of “-or”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | -our | — |
| 2 | Old French | -eor | Alternative form of -or |
| 3 | Latin | -ator | -ator, -er; second-person singular future passive... |
| 4 | Latin | -tor | -er |
| 5 | Proto-Italic | -tōr | — |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | -tōr | Derives agent nouns from verbs, denoting someone... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -tor-s | — |