Where does “cheater” come from?
Cheater derives from English cheat, which comes from Chinese 兒 via English escheat, ultimately tracing through Latin -are, Latin -arius, and Latin ex.
cheater (English): One who cheats; An improvised breaker bar made...
Definitions
- One who cheats; An improvised breaker bar made...
Ancestry of “cheater”, step by step
cheater traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English cheat
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | cheat | To violate rules in order to gain advantage from... |
| 2 | Middle English | chete | cottage |
| 3 | Middle English | achete | Escheat; the acquisition of property left without an inheritor |
| 4 | Middle English | eschete | The taking of property from a feudal subject due to extinction of their line or crimes committed; escheat |
| 5 | Old French | eschet | — |
| 6 | Old French | escheoir | to fall; to happen |
| 7 | Latin | excadēre | fall out |
| 8 | Latin | cadēre | — |
| 9 | Latin | cadō | to fall, to fall out |
| 10 | Proto-Italic | kadō | fall, sink |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱad- | to fall |
via Middle English chetour
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | chetour | — |