Where does “putter” come from?
Putter derives from English put, which comes from English pote, from Middle Dutch -en, from Latin -are, ultimately from Latin puer meaning boy.
putter (English): To be active, but not excessively busy, at a task...
Definitions
- To be active, but not excessively busy, at a task...
Ancestry of “putter”, step by step
putter traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.
via English put
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | put | To place something somewhere; To bring or set... |
| 2 | Old French | pute | nominative singular of putain; dirty woman; whore |
| 3 | Vulgar Latin | putta | prostitute |
| 4 | Latin | puta | second-person singular present active imperative... |
| 5 | Latin | puto | I clean, cleanse; I trim, prune, lop; I arrange,... |
| 6 | Latin | putus | pure; a boy |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | puHtós | pure, clean |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | pewH- | to be clean, pure |
via English Potter
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Potter | A person from Stoke-on-Trent; someone connected... |
| 2 | English | pote | To push, thrust; To poke |
| 3 | Middle English | poten | — |
| 4 | Old English | potian | to thrust, push |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | putōn | — |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | putōną | to stick, stab, poke; to push |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | bud- | to shoot, sprout; to swell |