Where does “courier” come from?
Courier comes from Middle English currour, from Old French coreor, a noun formed with the Old French agent suffix -eor from Latin currere meaning "to run," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ḱers-.
courier (English): a person who looks after and guides tourists; a...
Definitions
- a person who looks after and guides tourists; a...
Ancestry of “courier”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | corour | — |
| 2 | Old French | coreor | runner |
| 3 | Old French | -eor | Alternative form of -or |
| 4 | Latin | -ator | -ator, -er; second-person singular future passive... |
| 5 | Latin | -tor | -er |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | -tōr | Forms agent nouns to verb stems |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -tōr | Derives agent nouns from verbs, denoting someone... |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -tor-s | — |