Where does “grasshopper” come from?
Grasshopper derives from Middle English grashoppe, blending Middle English gresse or grass with Middle English -er (from Old French -er, from Latin -are and Latin -arius), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European gʰreH₁-.
grasshopper (English): A mostly herbivorous insect of the order...
Definitions
- A mostly herbivorous insect of the order...
Ancestry of “grasshopper”, step by step
grasshopper traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.
via Middle English gressehopper
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | gressehopper | grasshopper, cicada; Something else which leaps... |
| 2 | Middle English | grashope | grasshopper, cicada; locust |
| 3 | Old English | græshoppa | grasshopper, locust |
| 4 | Old English | hoppa | one who hops, hopper; hopper |
| 5 | English | -er | A person or thing that does an action indicated... |
| 6 | Middle English | -er | agentive suffix; agent noun suffix |
| 7 | Old French | -er | Alternative form of -ier, verbal suffix;... |
| 8 | Latin | -āre | first conjugation |
| 9 | Proto-Italic | -āō | Forms primarily denominative verbs |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | -eh₂yéti | Creates iterative/ frequentative/ intensive... |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | -yéti | Creates intransitive, often deponent,... |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | yé- | — |
| 13 | Chichewa | iye | he, she |
via Middle English grashoppyr
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | grashoppyr | Alternative form of gressehopper |
| 2 | Middle English | greshoppe | Alternative form of grashope |
| 3 | Old English | gærshoppa | grasshopper, locust |
| 4 | Old English | gærs | Alternative form of græs; grass, blade of grass,... |
| 5 | Old English | græs | grass |
| 6 | Proto-West Germanic | gras | grass |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | grasą | grass |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵʰreh₁- | to become green, grow; to grow; to green, to grow |
via Middle English grashopper
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | grashopper | Alternative form of gressehopper |