Where does “sucker” come from?
Sucker comes from Middle English -er and Old French -er, derived from Latin -arius, which traces back to Proto-Indo-European seh₂g-.
sucker (English): A person or animal that sucks, especially a...
Definitions
- A person or animal that sucks, especially a...
Ancestry of “sucker”, step by step
sucker traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.
via English suck
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | suck | An instance of drawing something into one's mouth... |
| 2 | Middle English | souken | To suck; to extract or draw with the mouth; To... |
| 3 | Old English | sūcan | to suck |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | sūkan | to suck; to suckle |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | sūkaną | to suck; to suckle |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | sug- | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | sew- | to press out, extract; juice; liquid, rain; to... |
via Middle English souker
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | souker | A breastfeeder; one who breastfeeds; One who... |
| 2 | Middle English | -ere | er |
| 3 | Old English | -ere | masculine agent suffix, originally applied only... |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | -ārī | -er |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | -ārijaz | -er |
| 6 | Latin | -ārius | er |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | *-āzios | Forms relational adjectives to nouns (and rarely numerals) |