Where does “trigger” come from?
Trigger comes from English tricker, from English trick, from Dutch trekken meaning to pull, from Middle Dutch trekken, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European dreg- meaning to draw or pull.
trigger (English): A finger-operated lever used to fire a gun; A...
Definitions
- A finger-operated lever used to fire a gun; A...
Ancestry of “trigger”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dutch | trekker | puller; trigger; tractor |
| 2 | Dutch | trekken | to pull, to draw; to manage, to have the strength... |
| 3 | Middle Dutch | trecken | to pull or draw to oneself; to go to another... |
| 4 | Old Dutch | trecken | — |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | *trakkjan | to drag |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | trakjaną | to drag |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | -janą | Derives denominatives from nouns and factitives... |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -yéti | Creates intransitive, often deponent,... |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | yé- | — |
| 10 | Chichewa | iye | he, she |