Where does “boomsayer” come from?
boomsayer (English) comes from English doomsayer, from English sayer, from English say, from English assay, from Middle English assay, from Anglo-Norman assaier, from Old French essai, from Late Latin exagium — to drive.
boomsayer (English): A person who makes optimistic projections about...
Definitions
- A person who makes optimistic projections about...
Ancestry of “boomsayer”, step by step
boomsayer traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English doomsayer
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | doomsayer | One who makes dire predictions about the future;... |
| 2 | English | sayer | One who says; one who makes announcements; a... |
| 3 | English | say | To pronounce; To recite; To tell, either verbally... |
| 4 | English | assay | Trial, attempt; Examination and determination;... |
| 5 | Middle English | assay | Examining; investigation, looking into, research;... |
| 6 | Anglo-Norman | assaier | Alternative form of essaier |
| 7 | Old French | essai | trial |
| 8 | Late Latin | exagium | weight; weighing, testing on the balance;... |
| 9 | Latin | exigō | to drive out; expel |
| 10 | Latin | agō | to act, to behave |
| 11 | Proto-Italic | agō | drive; push, impel; do, act |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂éǵeti | to be driving |
| 13 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂eǵ- | to drive |
via English Boom
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Boom | A Belgian town and municipality in the southwest of the Flemish province of Antwerp |
| 2 | Dutch | Boom | a Belgian town and municipality in the Flemish province of Antwerp |
| 3 | Dutch | bodem | bottom; soil, ground; earth surface |
| 4 | Middle Dutch | bodem | — |
| 5 | Old Dutch | *bodom | — |
| 6 | Old English | botm | bottom; foundation; ground; abyss |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | butmaz | bottom; foundation; ground; abyss |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰudʰmḗn | bottom |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | dʰewbʰ- | deep |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | dʰewh₂- | smoke; mist, haze |