Where does “mailcatcher” come from?
mailcatcher (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.
mailcatcher (English): A device on a train for picking up mailbags while...
Definitions
- A device on a train for picking up mailbags while...
Ancestry of “mailcatcher”, step by step
mailcatcher traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English catcher
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | catcher | Someone or something that catches; The player... |
| 2 | English | catch | The act of seizing or capturing; The act of... |
| 3 | Middle English | cacchen | to catch |
| 4 | Anglo-Norman | cachier | to hide; Alternative form of chacier |
| 5 | Vulgar Latin | coacticare | present active infinitive of *coacticō |
| 6 | Latin | coactō | to compel, constrain, force |
| 7 | Latin | coactus | forced, compelled, having been forced; urged,... |
| 8 | Latin | cōgō | to collect, assemble, gather together |
| 9 | Latin | cōn- | Used in compounds to indicate a being or bringing together of several objects |
| 10 | Latin | cum | with, along with; at; -fold |
| 11 | Old Latin | com | Alternative form of cum |
| 12 | Proto-Italic | kom | with, along, at |
| 13 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱóm | beside, near, by, with |
| 14 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱe | Deictic particle, here; Post-positional... |
| 15 | Middle English | kyt | — |
| 16 | Russian | кит | whale; genitive plural of ки́та |
| 17 | Old Church Slavonic | китъ | whale |
| 18 | Ancient Greek | κῆτος | whale, sea monster; abyss |
via English mail
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | A bag or wallet; A bag containing letters to be... | |
| 2 | Middle English | mal | — |
| 3 | Old English | māl | speech, contract, agreement; suit, case, action,... |
| 4 | Old Norse | mál | language; speech; matter, affair |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | mēlą | measure, measurement; time, occasion; point in... |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | melh₂- | to grind, to crush |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | mel- | soft; tender; weak; to deceive; to rub |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | mey- | to strengthen; to bind; to change, exchange |