Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “trotter” come from?

Trotter comes from Middle English trottere, a word of uncertain origin and meaning.

trotter (English): In harness racing, a horse with a gait in which...

Definitions

  1. In harness racing, a horse with a gait in which...

Ancestry of “trotter”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishtrotAn ugly old woman, a hag; A gait of a four-legged...
2Middle Englishtrotten—
3Old Frenchtrotter—
4Medieval Latintrottoto go
5Frankishtrottōnto go, run
6Proto-Germanictradjanąto tread, trample
7Proto-Germanic-janąDerives denominatives from nouns and factitives...
8Proto-Indo-European-yétiCreates intransitive, often deponent,...
9Proto-Indo-Europeanyé-—
10Chichewaiyehe, she

Words derived from “trotter”

  • globetrotter
  • bogtrotter
  • globetrotter
  • globetrotte
  • globetrotter
Every word from Chichewa iye →