Where does “wanderess” come from?

wanderess (English) comes from English wander, from Middle English wandren, from Old English wandrian, from Proto-West Germanic *wandarōn — to waver, change, fluctuate.

wanderess (English): A female wanderer

Definitions

  1. A female wanderer

Ancestry of “wanderess”, step by step

wanderess traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English wander

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishwanderTo move without purpose or specified destination;...
2Middle EnglishwandrenTo move aimlessly; to ramble or saunter
3Old Englishwandrianto wander; to travel
4Proto-West Germanic*wandarōnto waver, change, fluctuate

via English ess

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishessThe name of the Latin-script letter S; Something...
2Germanessfirst-person singular present of essen; singular...
3Proto-Germanicatiska-grainfield
4Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂edos-sort of cereal, grain
Every word from Proto-West Germanic *wandarōn →Every word from Old English wandrian →Every word from Middle English wandren →