Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “defaulter” come from?

Defaulter comes from English default plus the agent suffix -er, ultimately from Latin -ārius, a suffix forming agent nouns from verbs, itself derived from Latin -us and Proto-Italic -os.

defaulter (English): one who fails to fulfill an obligation or perform...

Definitions

  1. one who fails to fulfill an obligation or perform...

Ancestry of “defaulter”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishdefaultThe condition of failing to meet an obligation;...
2Middle Englishdefaute—
3Old Frenchdefautelack; absence
4Latindē-—
5Latindē—
6Latinpostbehind; after, since, besides, except; behind,...
7Latinposteablative singular of postis
8Proto-Italicposti—
9Proto-Indo-Europeanpósti—
10Proto-Indo-Europeanpósafterwards, post; by, at
Every word from Proto-Indo-European pós →