Etymology Explorer › English

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

  1. One who is expert at programming and solving...

Ancestry of “hacker”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishhackTo chop or cut down in a rough manner; To cough...
2EnglishhackysackAlternative form of hackeysack
3EnglishhackeysackA non-competition sport in which a small sack, or...
4EnglishsackA bag; especially a large bag of strong, coarse...
5Middle Englishsakbag, sackcloth
6Old Englishsaccsack, bag
7Old Englishsæccbattle, strife, fighting
8Proto-West Germanicsakku—
9Proto-Germanicsakkuzsack, bag, purse
10Latinsaccussack, bag; purse, wallet, moneybag; garment of...
11Ancient Greekσάκκοςsack; sackcloth; sackcloth vestment, penitential...

Words derived from “hacker”

  • hackerdom
  • antihacker
  • hackerish
  • nonhacker
  • hackerproof
  • wallhacker
  • biohacker
  • nuthacker
  • lifehacker
  • hackerspace
  • cyberhacker
  • hackers
  • hax0r
  • хакер
  • hacker
  • Hacker
  • hackear
  • antihackers
  • hacker
  • hakkerointi
  • hakkeri
  • hakkeroida
  • ハッカー
  • haker
Every word from Ancient Greek σάκκος →