Where does “rangefinder” come from?
rangefinder (English) comes from English finder, from German Finder, from German -er, from Old High German -āri, from Proto-West Germanic -ārī, from Proto-Germanic -ārijaz, from Latin -ārius, from Proto-Italic *-āzios — Forms relational adjectives to nouns (and rarely numerals).
rangefinder (English): Any of several designs of optical instrument...
Definitions
- Any of several designs of optical instrument...
Ancestry of “rangefinder”, step by step
rangefinder traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English finder
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | finder | One who finds or discovers something; An optical... |
| 2 | German | Finder | finder |
| 3 | German | -er | Forms agent nouns etc. from verbs, suffixed to... |
| 4 | Old High German | -āri | used to form agent nouns |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | -ārī | -er |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | -ārijaz | -er |
| 7 | Latin | -ārius | er |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | *-āzios | Forms relational adjectives to nouns (and rarely numerals) |
via English range
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | range | A line or series of mountains, buildings, etc; A... |
| 2 | Middle English | rengen | — |
| 3 | Old French | rengier | to line up; to form ranks |
| 4 | Old French | reng | place; position |
| 5 | Latin | rencus | row; order, rank |
| 6 | Gaulish | rekos | — |
| 7 | Proto-Celtic | reketi | to arrange |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | (H)rek- | to set in order |