Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “train” come from?

Train comes from Old French train, from Middle French traïne, from Old French traïr, from Latin traho meaning to pull or drag, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European terh₂-.

train (English): Elongated portion; Connected sequence of people...

Definitions

  1. Elongated portion; Connected sequence of people...

Ancestry of “train”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishtrain—
2Old Frenchtraina delay, a drawing out
3Old FrenchtraïnerAlternative form of trainer; to pull out, to draw
4Vulgar Latintraginarepresent active infinitive of *traginō
5Latintragēre—
6Latintraheresecond-person singular future passive indicative...
7LatintrahoI drag, pull; I trail; I extract, withdraw
8Proto-Italictraɣō—
9Proto-Indo-Europeantregʰ-to drag, pull?; to run, walk
10Proto-Indo-Europeandʰregʰ-to run

Words derived from “train”

  • training
  • trains
  • trainer
  • trainee
  • retrain
  • trainable
  • trainload
  • posttraining
  • powertrain
  • drivetrain
  • pretraining
  • trainmaster
  • trainability
  • trainman
  • valvetrain
  • trainband
  • traineeship
  • detrain
  • overtrain
  • untrainable
  • trainbearer
  • detrainment
  • housetrain
  • trainful
Every word from Proto-Indo-European dʰregʰ- →