Where does “stranger” come from?
Stranger comes from Old French estrangier, formed from Old French estrange with the suffix -ier, ultimately from Latin extra meaning "outside" combined with the suffix -arius and -anum.
stranger (English): comparative form of strange: more strange; A...
Definitions
- comparative form of strange: more strange; A...
Ancestry of “stranger”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | straunger | foreigner, alien; comparative degree of straunge |
| 2 | Old French | estrangier | foreigner |
| 3 | Old French | estrange | foreign; overseas; foreigner; non-native |
| 4 | Latin | extrāneus | foreign |
| 5 | Latin | -āneus | forming adjectives Of or pertaining to; -aneous |
| 6 | Latin | -eus | argentum + API → argenteus; ferrum + API →... |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | *-eos | Forms adjectives indicating being formed out of a material |