Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “walker” come from?

Walker comes from Middle English walkere, from Old English wealcere, a derivative of the verb meaning to full cloth.

walker (English): a person who walks or a thing which walks,...

Definitions

  1. a person who walks or a thing which walks,...

Ancestry of “walker”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishwalkereone who walks, traveller
2Middle Englishwalkento roll, toss, journey about
3Old Englishwealcianto roll up, curl, twist; to wrinkle
4Frankishwalkōnto roll; to full
5Proto-GermanicwalkōnąTo roll about; wallow; To full
6Indo-European*wel-—

Words derived from “walker”

  • sleepwalker
  • streetwalker
  • jaywalker
  • jaywalk
  • nightwalker
  • skinwalker
  • trackwalker
  • wirewalker
  • racewalker
  • dogwalker
  • ropewalker
  • bushwalker
  • spacewalker
  • skywalker
  • hillwalker
  • stiltwalker
  • fellwalker
  • fastwalker
  • knucklewalker
  • nanowalker
  • cowalker
  • floor-walker
  • planeswalker
  • daywalker
Every word from Indo-European *wel- →