Where does “truthsayer” come from?
truthsayer (English) comes from English sayer, from English say, from English assay, from Middle English assay, from Anglo-Norman assaier, from Old French essai, from Late Latin exagium, from Latin exigō — to drive.
Ancestry of “truthsayer”, step by step
truthsayer traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English sayer
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | sayer | One who says; one who makes announcements; a... |
| 2 | English | say | To pronounce; To recite; To tell, either verbally... |
| 3 | English | assay | Trial, attempt; Examination and determination;... |
| 4 | Middle English | assay | Examining; investigation, looking into, research;... |
| 5 | Anglo-Norman | assaier | Alternative form of essaier |
| 6 | Old French | essai | trial |
| 7 | Late Latin | exagium | weight; weighing, testing on the balance;... |
| 8 | Latin | exigō | to drive out; expel |
| 9 | Latin | agō | to act, to behave |
| 10 | Proto-Italic | agō | drive; push, impel; do, act |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂éǵeti | to be driving |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂eǵ- | to drive |
via English truth
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | truth | True facts, genuine depiction or statements of... |
| 2 | Middle English | troute | trout certain fish of the genus |
| 3 | Old English | truht | trout |
| 4 | Old French | truite | — |
| 5 | Latin | tructa | a kind of trout |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | τρώκτης | gnawer, nibbler; greedy knave; kind of fish with... |
| 7 | Ancient Greek | -τής | Appended to verbs to form agent nouns |
| 8 | Ancient Greek | πεῖρα | trial, experiment, attempt |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | per- | before, in front; first; to go through |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | pr̥tós | passed , crossed |