Where does “stressor” come from?
Stressor derives from English stress, itself from Middle English destresse, from Latin dis- and stringo, both tracing to Proto-Indo-European strenk-, meaning to draw tight or constrict.
stressor (English): An environmental condition or influence that...
Definitions
- An environmental condition or influence that...
Ancestry of “stressor”, step by step
stressor traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English stress
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | stress | A physical, chemical, infective agent aggressing... |
| 2 | Middle English | destresse | — |
| 3 | Old French | destrecier | to distress |
| 4 | Latin | distringō | to stretch out or apart |
| 5 | Latin | dis- | asunder, apart, in two; reversal, removal;... |
| 6 | Latin | calceus | shoe |
| 7 | Latin | calx | limestone; chalk; the finish line |
| 8 | Ancient Greek | χάλιξ | small stone, pebble; gravel, rubble |
via English ‐or
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | ‐or | Creates an agent noun, often from a verb, indicating a person or object (often machines or parts of them) that do the verb or part of speech with which they are formed |
| 2 | Middle English | -our | — |
| 3 | Old French | -eor | Alternative form of -or |
| 4 | Latin | -ator | -ator, -er; second-person singular future passive... |
| 5 | Latin | -tor | -er |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | -tōr | Forms agent nouns to verb stems |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -tōr | Derives agent nouns from verbs, denoting someone... |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -tor-s | — |