Where does “subofficer” come from?
subofficer (English) comes from English officer, from Middle English officer, from Anglo-Norman officer, from Latin officiārius, from French officier, from German Offizier, from Old French officer, from Medieval Latin officiarius — to throw, reach, pierce; to hit by throwing.
subofficer (English): An under or subordinate officer
Definitions
- An under or subordinate officer
Ancestry of “subofficer”, step by step
subofficer traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English officer
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | officer | One who has a position of authority in a... |
| 2 | Middle English | officer | A hireling or subordinate; one employed to serve,... |
| 3 | Anglo-Norman | officer | officer |
| 4 | Latin | officiārius | officer |
| 5 | French | officier | to officiate; officer |
| 6 | German | Offizier | officer, commissioned officer; any chess piece... |
| 7 | Old French | officer | officer |
| 8 | Medieval Latin | officiarius | officer |
| 9 | Latin | officium | duty, service; office; obligation, an obligatory... |
| 10 | Latin | opificium | work |
| 11 | Latin | opifex | Someone who does work (especially creative or constructive); worker, maker, framer, fabricator, workman, mechanic, artificer, craftsman, inventor, artist, artisan |
| 12 | Latin | Ops | earth goddess, fertility deity |
| 13 | Latin | oscen | any bird by whose song cries augurs divined... |
| 14 | Latin | opscen | — |
| 15 | Latin | ob- | towards; against |
| 16 | Latin | obolus | obolus (Greek coin) |
| 17 | Ancient Greek | ὀβολός | obol, obolus, used at Athens as both a weight and... |
| 18 | Ancient Greek | ὀβελός | a spit, rod; a horizontal line |
| 19 | Ancient Greek | βέλος | missile, arrow, dart; weapon; something quickly... |
| 20 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷélHos | — |
| 21 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷelH- | to throw, reach, pierce; to hit by throwing |
via English sub
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | sub | A submarine; A submarine sandwich: a sandwich... |
| 2 | English | substitute | To use in place of something else, with the same... |
| 3 | Middle English | substituten | — |
| 4 | Latin | substitutus | substituted |
| 5 | Latin | substituo | I place next to, under, or instead of; I... |
| 6 | Latin | statuo | I set up, station; I establish, determine, fix; I... |
| 7 | Latin | stātus | fixed, set, having been set |
| 8 | Latin | stō | to stand |
| 9 | Proto-Italic | staēō | stand |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | sth₂éh₁yeti | to stand |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | *steh₂- | — |