Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “saboteur” come from?

saboteur (English) comes from French saboteur, from French -eur, from Middle French -eur, from Old French -eor, from Latin -ator, from Latin -tor, from Proto-Italic -tōr, from Proto-Indo-European -tōr.

saboteur (English): A person who intentionally causes the destruction...

Definitions

  1. A person who intentionally causes the destruction...

Ancestry of “saboteur”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchsaboteursaboteur
2French-eurUsed to form agent nouns from verbs; API f; -ness
3Middle French-eurUsed to form agent nouns from verbs
4Old French-eorAlternative form of -or
5Latin-ator-ator, -er; second-person singular future passive...
6Latin-tor-er
7Proto-Italic-tōr—
8Proto-Indo-European-tōrDerives agent nouns from verbs, denoting someone...
9Proto-Indo-European-tor-s—

Words derived from “saboteur”

  • hunt saboteur
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -tor-s →