Where does “hacker” come from?
Hacker comes from Middle English hackere, formed from Middle English hack plus the agent suffix -er, which derives from Old French -er, ultimately from Latin -ārius via the infinitive suffix -āre.
hacker (English): One who is expert at programming and solving...
Definitions
- One who is expert at programming and solving...
Ancestry of “hacker”, step by step
hacker traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English hack
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | hack | To chop or cut down in a rough manner; To cough... |
| 2 | English | hackysack | Alternative form of hackeysack |
| 3 | English | hackeysack | A non-competition sport in which a small sack, or... |
| 4 | English | sack | A bag; especially a large bag of strong, coarse... |
| 5 | Middle English | sak | bag, sackcloth |
| 6 | Old English | sacc | sack, bag |
| 7 | Old English | sæcc | battle, strife, fighting |
| 8 | Proto-West Germanic | sakku | sack, bag |
| 9 | Proto-Germanic | sakkuz | sack, bag, purse |
| 10 | Latin | saccus | sack, bag; purse, wallet, moneybag; garment of... |
| 11 | Ancient Greek | σάκκος | sack; sackcloth; sackcloth vestment, penitential... |