Where does “fishcatcher” come from?

fishcatcher (English) comes from English catcher, from English catch, from Middle English cacchen, from Anglo-Norman cachier, from Vulgar Latin coacticare, from Latin coactō, from Latin coactus, from Latin cōgō — whale, sea monster; abyss.

fishcatcher (English): a fisherman; someone who catches fish

Definitions

  1. a fisherman; someone who catches fish

Ancestry of “fishcatcher”, step by step

fishcatcher traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English catcher

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishcatcherSomeone or something that catches; The player...
2EnglishcatchThe act of seizing or capturing; The act of...
3Middle Englishcacchento catch
4Anglo-Normancachierto hide; Alternative form of chacier
5Vulgar Latincoacticarepresent active infinitive of *coacticō
6Latincoactōto compel, constrain, force
7Latincoactusforced, compelled, having been forced; urged,...
8Latincōgōto collect, assemble, gather together
9Latincōn-Used in compounds to indicate a being or bringing together of several objects
10Latincumwith, along with; at; -fold
11Old LatincomAlternative form of cum
12Proto-Italickomwith, along, at
13Proto-Indo-Europeanḱómbeside, near, by, with
14Proto-Indo-EuropeanḱeDeictic particle, here; Post-positional...
15Middle Englishkyt
16Russianкитwhale; genitive plural of ки́та
17Old Church Slavonicкитъwhale
18Ancient Greekκῆτοςwhale, sea monster; abyss

via English fish

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishfishA cold-blooded vertebrate animal that lives in...
2Middle EnglishfischAn animal that inhabits the water or the meat of...
3Old Englishfisċfish
4Proto-West Germanicfiskfish
5Proto-Germanicfiskazfish
6Indo-European*peysk-
Every word from Ancient Greek κῆτος
fishcatcher — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer