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;...
4Latinsuffixed to nouns or adjectives. Originally a-stem nouns. Later extended to nouns with other stems. Forms regular first-conjugation verbs
5Proto-Indo-EuropeanDerives nouns from roots

via Middle English tester

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishtester

Words derived from “tester

Every word from Proto-Indo-European steh₂-
tester — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer