Where does “rover” come from?
Rover comes from Middle Dutch roven, from Old Dutch rōvon, from Old English hræfn, from Proto-Indo-European Hrewp-, ultimately tracing to the Proto-Indo-European root ḱer-.
rover (English): A randomly selected target; One who roves, a...
Definitions
- A randomly selected target; One who roves, a...
Ancestry of “rover”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | roven | Alternative form of rofen; to roof; to wander, to... |
| 2 | Middle English | raven | to wander; to rave; talk like a madman |
| 3 | Old English | hræfn | raven |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | hrabn | raven |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | hrabnaz | raven |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱorh₂- | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱer- | to grow, to make grow, to nourish; to plait,... |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | kr̥- | to turn, to bend |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | ker- | army |
Words derived from “rover”