Where does “U-boater” come from?

U-boater (English) comes from English u-boat, from German U-Boot, from German Unterseeboot, from German boot, from Middle Low German bōt, from Middle English bot, from Old English bāt, from Proto-West Germanic bait — bee.

U-boater (English): A submariner on a U-boat

Definitions

  1. A submariner on a U-boat

Ancestry of “U-boater”, step by step

U-boater traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English u-boat

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Englishu-boatAny German submarine of the First or Second World War, or any Austro-Hungarian submarine of the First World War
2GermanU-Boota U-boat or submarine
3GermanUnterseebootsubmarine
4Germanbootboat
5Middle Low Germanbōt
6Middle EnglishbotA seafaring vessel or watercraft; a device for...
7Old Englishbātthat which can be bitten, food, bait; boat, ship,...
8Proto-West Germanicbaitboat, ship
9Proto-Germanicbaitazboat, ship
10Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰeyd-to split
11Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰey-bee

via English ER

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishERThe statistic "Earned Run"; Initialism of...
2Turkisherearly; brave; man, male
3Ottoman Turkishایرsaddle, a seat for a rider placed on the back of a horse or other animal
4Old Anatolian Turkishایرearly, at a time in advance of the usual or expected event
5Proto-Turkicēdersaddle
Every word from Proto-Indo-European bʰey-