Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “photographer” come from?

Photographer comes from English photograph plus the agent noun suffix -er, ultimately from Ancient Greek -γραφω meaning "to write or draw" and Proto-Indo-European bʰeh₂- meaning "to shine or appear."

photographer (English): One who takes photographs, typically as an...

Definitions

  1. One who takes photographs, typically as an...

Ancestry of “photographer”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1English-erA person or thing that does an action indicated...
2Middle English-eragentive suffix; agent noun suffix
3Old French-erAlternative form of -ier, verbal suffix;...
4Latin-āre—
5Proto-Italic-āōForms primarily denominative verbs
6Proto-Indo-European-eh₂yétiCreates iterative/ frequentative/ intensive...
7Proto-Indo-European-yétiCreates intransitive, often deponent,...
8Proto-Indo-Europeanyé-—
9Chichewaiyehe, she

Words derived from “photographer”

  • astrophotographer
  • nonphotographer
  • telephotographer
  • rephotographer
  • photographeress
Every word from Chichewa iye →