Where does “tier” come from?

Tier derives from English tie plus the Old French suffix -er, itself from Latin -are, ultimately from Proto-Italic -os via Latin -arius and -us.

tier (English): One who ties; Something that ties; A child's...

Definitions

  1. One who ties; Something that ties; A child's...

Ancestry of “tier”, step by step

tier traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Middle French tier

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Frenchtier—
2Old Frenchtirerank, sequence, order, kind; row; oriental cloth...
3LatintyriusTyrian, of Tyre
4LatinTyrusTyre
5Ancient Greekτυρόςcheese
6Proto-Hellenictūróscheese
7Proto-Indo-Europeantuh₂-ró-s—
8Proto-Indo-Europeantewh₂-to swell; to crowd; to be strong

via English tie

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishtieA knot; a fastening; A knot of hair, as at the...
2Middle Englishteien—
3Old Englishtīġan—
4Proto-Germanictaugijanąto stretch, draw
5Proto-Indo-Europeandewk-to pull, to draw; to lead

Words derived from “tier”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European tewh₂- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European tuh₂-ró-s →Every word from Proto-Hellenic tūrós →