Where does “doomsayer” come from?
doomsayer (English) comes from English sayer, from English say, from English assay, from Middle English assay, from Anglo-Norman assaier, from Old French essai, from Late Latin exagium, from Latin exigō — to drive.
doomsayer (English): One who makes dire predictions about the future;...
Definitions
- One who makes dire predictions about the future;...
Ancestry of “doomsayer”, step by step
doomsayer traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English sayer
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | sayer | One who says; one who makes announcements; a... |
| 2 | English | say | To pronounce; To recite; To tell, either verbally... |
| 3 | English | assay | Trial, attempt; Examination and determination;... |
| 4 | Middle English | assay | Examining; investigation, looking into, research;... |
| 5 | Anglo-Norman | assaier | Alternative form of essaier |
| 6 | Old French | essai | trial |
| 7 | Late Latin | exagium | weight; weighing, testing on the balance;... |
| 8 | Latin | exigō | to drive out; expel |
| 9 | Latin | agō | to act, to behave |
| 10 | Proto-Italic | agō | drive; push, impel; do, act |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂éǵeti | to be driving |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂eǵ- | to drive |
via English Doom
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Doom | A popular first-person shooter video game, often regarded as the progenitor of the genre |
| 2 | Middle English | doom | a judgement, (legal) decision or sentence |
| 3 | Old English | dōm | might, power, glory; judgement; doom, judgment,... |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | dōmi | — |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | dōną | to do, make; to put, place |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | dʰéh₁t | to put, to place; to do |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | dʰeh₁- | to do, put, place |