Where does “peer” come from?
Peer derives from Middle English peere, from Old French per, from Latin par meaning "equal," originally denoting one of equal standing or rank.
peer (English): To look with difficulty, or as if searching for...
Definitions
- To look with difficulty, or as if searching for...
Ancestry of “peer”, step by step
peer traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English pee
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | pee | Urine; To urinate; To drizzle |
| 2 | English | piss | Urine; An instance of pissing; Alcoholic... |
| 3 | Middle English | pisse | piss, urine; Alternative form of pissen |
| 4 | Middle English | pissen | To piss; to deliver urine from the genitals; To... |
| 5 | Old French | pissier | to piss; to excrete urine |
| 6 | Vulgar Latin | pissiare | present active infinitive of *pīssiō |
| 7 | Latin | pissio | I piss |
via Middle English per
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | per | Alternative form of pere |
| 2 | Anglo-Norman | peir | — |
| 3 | Old French | per | by; equal |
| 4 | Latin | pār | even (of a number) |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | perH- | to fly; fore, first; exchange |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | per- | before, in front; first; to go through |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | pr̥tós | passed , crossed |