Where does “Ratherism” come from?

Ratherism (English) comes from English Rather, from English -gate, from English Watergate, from English water, from Middle English water, from Old English wæter, from Proto-West Germanic watar, from Proto-Germanic watōr — to wither; fade; to move, go ahead; to be strong;...

Ratherism (English): A colorful analogy or descriptive phrase,...

Definitions

  1. A colorful analogy or descriptive phrase,...

Ancestry of “Ratherism”, step by step

Ratherism traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English Rather

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishRatherUsed to specify a choice or preference; preferably, in preference to. (Now usually followed by than)
2English-gateCombined with keywords to form the names of...
3EnglishWatergateAn American political scandal (beginning with a burglary in the Watergate Hotel in Washington, DC, in 1972) that eventually led to the resignation of US President Richard Nixon
4EnglishwaterA substance found at room temperature and...
5Middle Englishwaterwater; water vapour, condensation; lake, pond,...
6Old Englishwæterwater
7Proto-West Germanicwatarwater
8Proto-Germanicwatōrwater
9Proto-Indo-Europeanwódr̥water
10Proto-Indo-Europeanwed-water
11Proto-Indo-Europeanwey-to wither; fade; to move, go ahead; to be strong;...

via English ism

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishismAn ideology, system of thought, or practice that...
2English-ismUsed to form nouns of action or process or result...
3Latin-ismus-ism
4Ancient Greek-ισμόςForms abstract nouns
5Ancient Greek-μόςForms abstract nouns
6Proto-Indo-European-mósCreates action/result nouns from verb stems
Every word from Proto-Indo-European wey-