Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “howler” come from?

Howler comes from English howl plus the agent suffix -er, ultimately deriving from Latin -ārius through Old French -er and Proto-Italic -os.

howler (English): That which howls, especially an animal such as a...

Definitions

  1. That which howls, especially an animal such as a...

Ancestry of “howler”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishhowlThe protracted, mournful cry of a dog or a wolf,...
2Middle Englishhowlen—
3Old Englishhūlian—
4Proto-West Germanic*hūilōn—
5Proto-Germanichūwilōnąto howl; scream
6Proto-Indo-Europeankū-to cry, to call; to howl, to shout; cf....
Every word from Proto-Indo-European kū- →