Where does “trainspotter” come from?
trainspotter (English) comes from English train, from Middle English train, from Old French train, from Old French traïner, from Vulgar Latin traginare, from Latin tragēre, from Latin trahere, from Latin traho — to run.
trainspotter (English): A person whose hobby is train spotting; An...
Definitions
- A person whose hobby is train spotting; An...
Ancestry of “trainspotter”, step by step
trainspotter traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English train
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | train | Elongated portion; Connected sequence of people... |
| 2 | Middle English | train | — |
| 3 | Old French | train | a delay, a drawing out |
| 4 | Old French | traïner | Alternative form of trainer; to pull out, to draw |
| 5 | Vulgar Latin | traginare | present active infinitive of *traginō |
| 6 | Latin | tragēre | — |
| 7 | Latin | trahere | second-person singular future passive indicative... |
| 8 | Latin | traho | I drag, pull; I trail; I extract, withdraw |
| 9 | Proto-Italic | traɣō | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | tregʰ- | to drag, pull?; to run, walk |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | dʰregʰ- | to run |
via English spotter
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | spotter | A person who observes something; A member of a... |
| 2 | English | spot | A round or irregular patch on the surface of a... |
| 3 | English | -y | Added to nouns and adjectives to form adjectives... |
| 4 | Middle English | -y | Designates an adjective, in many cases formed by... |
| 5 | Old English | -iġ | -y, -ic |
| 6 | Proto-West Germanic | -g | Forms adjectives from nouns and verbs with a... |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | -gaz | -y |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -ḱos | -y, -ic |