Where does “proliferator” come from?
Proliferator derives from English proliferate, from Latin ferre and the prefix pro-, ultimately tracing to Proto-Indo-European bʰer- meaning to carry or bear.
proliferator (English): Any agent that causes proliferation
Definitions
- Any agent that causes proliferation
Ancestry of “proliferator”, step by step
proliferator traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English proliferate
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | proliferate | To increase in number or spread rapidly; to... |
| 2 | English | proliferation | The process by which an organism produces others... |
| 3 | French | prolifération | proliferation, spreading |
| 4 | French | -ation | Used to indicate action, condition, result or effect; -ation |
| 5 | Middle French | -ation | ation |
| 6 | Old French | -ation | ation |
| 7 | Latin | -ātiō | — |
| 8 | Latin | -tiō | tion, -ation, -ing |
| 9 | Latin | dissertātiō | (spoken) dissertation, discourse, disquisition |
| 10 | Latin | dissertus | arranged, disposed; explained |
| 11 | Latin | disserere | second-person singular future passive indicative... |
| 12 | Latin | dis- | asunder, apart, in two; reversal, removal;... |
| 13 | Latin | calceus | shoe |
| 14 | Latin | calx | limestone; chalk; the finish line |
via English ‐or
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | ‐or | Creates an agent noun, often from a verb, indicating a person or object (often machines or parts of them) that do the verb or part of speech with which they are formed |
| 2 | Middle English | -our | — |
| 3 | Old French | -eor | Alternative form of -or |
| 4 | Latin | -ator | -ator, -er; second-person singular future passive... |
| 5 | Latin | -tor | -er |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | -tōr | Forms agent nouns to verb stems |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -tōr | Derives agent nouns from verbs, denoting someone... |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -tor-s | — |