Where does “tester” come from?

Tester comes from English test, from Latin testa, from Latin testis meaning witness, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European roots related to standing and crossing.

tester (English): A canopy over a bed; Something that overhangs...

Definitions

  1. A canopy over a bed; Something that overhangs...

Ancestry of “tester”, step by step

tester traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via English Test

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishTesta Test match
2Germantestento test
3GermanTesttest; melting pot
4EnglishtestA challenge, trial; A cupel or cupelling hearth...
5Middle Englishteste—
6Old Frenchtestehead
7Latintestiswitness; one who testifies or attests; testicle
8Latinterstis—
9Latintrīstissad, unhappy, melancholy, morose
10Proto-Indo-Europeantristh₂sa third party standing, after the two parties to...
11Proto-Indo-Europeansteh₂-to stand

via French teston

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchtestontester coin
2Italiantestoneblockhead, dunderhead
3Italian-oneAlterative suffix used to form augmentatives;...
4Latin-ōsuffixed to nouns or adjectives. Originally a-stem nouns. Later extended to nouns with other stems. Forms regular first-conjugation verbs
5Proto-Indo-European-ōDerives nouns from roots

via Middle English tester

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishtester—

Words derived from “tester”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European steh₂- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European tristh₂s →Every word from Latin trīstis →