Where does “distractor” come from?
Distractor comes from English distract, derived from Latin distractus, past participle of distraho, combining Latin traho (to draw) with the prefix dis- (apart).
distractor (English): Alternative spelling of distracter
Definitions
- Alternative spelling of distracter
Ancestry of “distractor”, step by step
distractor traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English ‐or
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | ‐or | Creates an agent noun, often from a verb, indicating a person or object (often machines or parts of them) that do the verb or part of speech with which they are formed |
| 2 | Middle English | -our | — |
| 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 | — |
via English distract
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | distract | To divert the attention of; To make crazy or... |
| 2 | Latin | distractus | divided, scattered; sold |
| 3 | Latin | distrahō | to draw, pull or drag asunder; tear in pieces, separate forcibly, divide; scatter |
| 4 | Latin | dis- | asunder, apart, in two; reversal, removal;... |
| 5 | Latin | calceus | shoe |
| 6 | Latin | calx | limestone; chalk; the finish line |
| 7 | Ancient Greek | χάλιξ | small stone, pebble; gravel, rubble |