Where does “railbuff” come from?

railbuff (English) comes from English rail, from Middle English rail, from Old English regol, from Latin rēgula, from Latin -ula, from Proto-Indo-European -tlom, from Proto-Indo-European -trom, from Proto-Indo-European -tḗr — Derives agent nouns from verbs, denoting someone...

railbuff (English): A railway enthusiast

Definitions

  1. A railway enthusiast

Ancestry of “railbuff”, step by step

railbuff traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English rail

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishrailA horizontal bar extending between supports and...
2Middle Englishrail
3Old Englishregola rule; a ruler
4Latinrēgularule, bar
5Latin-ularegō + API → rēgula; tegō + API → tēgula;...
6Proto-Indo-European-tlomAlternative form of *-trom
7Proto-Indo-European-tromForms nouns denoting a tool or instrument
8Proto-Indo-European-tḗrDerives agent nouns from verbs, denoting someone...

via English buff

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishbuffUndyed leather from the skin of buffalo or...
2Englishbuffeleather
3Middle Frenchbufflebuffalo
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -tḗrEvery word from Latin -ulaEvery word from Latin rēgula