Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “cater” come from?

Cater comes from French quatre, from Old French quatre, from Latin quattuor meaning four, influenced by Latin caput meaning head and the prefix ad-.

cater (English): To provide, "particularly:"; Synonym of acater:...

Definitions

  1. To provide, "particularly:"; Synonym of acater:...

Ancestry of “cater”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishcatouracater, provisioner
2Middle Englishacatouracater
3Old Frenchacheterto purchase; buy
4Vulgar Latinaccaptare—
5Latinacceptō—
6Latinaccipiō—
7Latinad-to; usually prefixed to verbs, in which cases it...
8Latinīn-—
9Latinîn—
10Latinenlookǃ beholdǃ; reallyǃ?; come onǃ
11Proto-Italicenin
12Proto-Indo-Europeanh₁énin

Words derived from “cater”

  • caterer
  • cateress
  • catercorner
  • cater-corner
  • catereth
  • caterest
  • catery
  • cater-cornered
  • kitty-cornered
  • cater-cousin
  • catty-corner
  • kitty-corner
  • ケイト
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₁én →