Where does “distributor” come from?
Distributor comes from Latin distributor, derived from distributus, the past participle of distribuere, meaning to divide among tribes or groups, from dis- (apart) and tribus (tribe).
distributor (English): One who or that which distributes; A device that...
Definitions
- One who or that which distributes; A device that...
Ancestry of “distributor”, step by step
distributor traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English distribute
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | distribute | To divide into portions and dispense; To supply... |
| 2 | Latin | distribūtus | divided, distributed |
| 3 | Latin | distribuere | third-person plural perfect active indicative of... |
| 4 | Latin | tribuere | third-person plural perfect active indicative of... |
| 5 | Latin | tribuo | I grant, bestow; I yield, give up, concede, allow |
| 6 | Latin | tribus | One of the three original tribes of Rome: Ramnes,... |
| 7 | Latin | trēs | three; 3 |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | trēs | three |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | *tréyes | — |
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 | — |