Where does “wayfinder” come from?

wayfinder (English) comes from English finder, from German Finder, from German -er, from Old High German -āri, from Proto-West Germanic -ārī, from Proto-Germanic -ārijaz, from Latin -ārius, from Proto-Italic *-āzios — Forms relational adjectives to nouns (and rarely numerals).

wayfinder (English): One who finds a way: either a physical route or a...

Definitions

  1. One who finds a way: either a physical route or a...

Ancestry of “wayfinder”, step by step

wayfinder traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English finder

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishfinderOne who finds or discovers something; An optical...
2GermanFinderfinder
3German-erForms agent nouns etc. from verbs, suffixed to...
4Old High German-āriused to form agent nouns
5Proto-West Germanic-ārī-er
6Proto-Germanic-ārijaz-er
7Latin-āriuser
8Proto-Italic*-āziosForms relational adjectives to nouns (and rarely numerals)

via English Way

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishWayChristianity
2Middle Englishway
3Old Englishweġway; path; way, road, path
4Proto-West Germanicwegway, road
5Proto-Germanicwēgazwave; sea
6Proto-Indo-Europeanweǵʰ-to bring; to transport
Every word from Proto-Italic *-āziosEvery word from Latin -āriusEvery word from German -er