Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “craft” come from?

Craft comes from Middle English craft, from Old English cræft, from Proto-West Germanic kraftu, from Proto-Germanic kraftuz, which derives from the Proto-Indo-European suffix -tus.

craft (English): Strength; power; might; force; Intellectual...

Definitions

  1. Strength; power; might; force; Intellectual...

Ancestry of “craft”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germankrafton the basis of; by virtue of; by means of,...
2Middle High Germankraft—
3Old High Germankraft—
4Proto-West Germanickraftustrength, power; skill
5Proto-Germanickraftuzstrength, power
6Proto-Germanic-þuzForms result nouns from verb roots, usually from...
7Proto-Indo-European-tusDerives action nouns from verb roots

Words derived from “craft”

  • aircraft
  • crafts
  • spacecraft
  • craftsman
  • craftsmanship
  • watercraft
  • tradecraft
  • craftsperson
  • craftwork
  • shuttlecraft
  • crafter
  • rotorcraft
  • sailcraft
  • craftmanship
  • craftswoman
  • craftsmanlike
  • spellcraft
  • fieldcraft
  • soulcraft
  • aerocraft
  • seacraft
  • recraft
  • smithcraft
  • craftsy
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -tus →