Where does “drifter” come from?
Drifter comes from English drift with the agent suffix -er, itself from Old French -er, from Latin -āre and -ārius, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European dʰer-.
drifter (English): A person who moves from place to place or job to...
Definitions
- A person who moves from place to place or job to...
Ancestry of “drifter”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | -er | A person or thing that does an action indicated... |
| 2 | Middle English | -er | agentive suffix; agent noun suffix |
| 3 | Old French | -er | Alternative form of -ier, verbal suffix;... |
| 4 | Latin | -āre | — |
| 5 | Proto-Italic | -āō | Forms primarily denominative verbs |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | -eh₂yéti | Creates iterative/ frequentative/ intensive... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -yéti | Creates intransitive, often deponent,... |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | yé- | — |
| 9 | Chichewa | iye | he, she |