Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “chair” come from?

Chair comes from Middle English chaire, from Old French chaiere, from Latin cathedra, from Ancient Greek καθέδρα, a compound of κατά and ἕδος meaning a seat or thing to sit upon.

chair (English): An item of furniture used to sit on or in,...

Definitions

  1. An item of furniture used to sit on or in,...

Ancestry of “chair”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishChucka Chuck Taylor All-Stars shoe
2EnglishchockAny object used as a wedge or filler, especially...
3Frenchchoquerto hit, to collide; to shock
4Germanschockieren—
5Spanishchocarto crash; to bump into, to collide with; to...
6Portuguesechocarto brood; to hatch; to linger
7Russianшоки́ровать—
8Russian-и́ровать—
9German-ierenVerb suffix: it and its inflected forms are found...
10French-erForms infinitives of first-conjugation verbs
11English-erA person or thing that does an action indicated...
12Middle English-eragentive suffix; agent noun suffix
13Old French-erAlternative form of -ier, verbal suffix;...
14Latin-āre—
15Proto-Italic-āōForms primarily denominative verbs
16Proto-Indo-European-eh₂yétiCreates iterative/ frequentative/ intensive...
17Proto-Indo-European-yétiCreates intransitive, often deponent,...
18Proto-Indo-Europeanyé-—

Words derived from “chair”

  • chairman
  • wheelchair
  • armchair
  • chairperson
  • chairmanship
  • chairwoman
  • cochair
  • pushchair
  • chairlift
  • highchair
  • cochairman
  • chairback
  • chairmaker
  • chairside
  • wheelchairbound
  • chairmaking
  • chairpersonship
  • chairness
  • chairless
  • wheelchaired
  • vicechair
  • chairbound
  • chairlike
  • chairship
Every word from Proto-Indo-European yé- →