Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “doer” come from?

Doer comes from Middle English doer, formed with the Middle English agent suffix -er from Old French -er, itself from Latin -āre verbal infinitives and Latin -ārius, ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root dʰeh₁- meaning "to do or place" and Proto-Italic -os.

doer (English): Someone who does, performs, or executes; an...

Definitions

  1. Someone who does, performs, or executes; an...

Ancestry of “doer”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishdoerdoer, agent; offender; cause, reason
2Middle English-ere—
3Old English-eremasculine agent suffix, originally applied only...
4Proto-West Germanic-ārī-er
5Proto-Germanic-ārijaz-er
6Latin-ārius—
7Proto-Italic*-āzios—

Words derived from “doer”

  • wrongdoer
  • doership
  • welldoer
  • doerless
Every word from Proto-Italic *-āzios →