Where does “whistle-blower” come from?
whistle-blower (English) comes from English blower, from Middle English blowere, from Middle English -ere, from Old English -ere, from Proto-West Germanic -ārī, from Proto-Germanic -ārijaz, from Latin -ārius, from Proto-Italic *-āzios — Forms relational adjectives to nouns (and rarely numerals).
whistle-blower (English): One who reports a problem or violation to the...
Definitions
- One who reports a problem or violation to the...
Ancestry of “whistle-blower”, step by step
whistle-blower traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English blower
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | blower | A person who blows; Any device that blows;... |
| 2 | Middle English | blowere | A player of a wind instrument |
| 3 | Middle English | -ere | er |
| 4 | Old English | -ere | masculine agent suffix, originally applied only... |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | -ārī | -er |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | -ārijaz | -er |
| 7 | Latin | -ārius | er |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | *-āzios | Forms relational adjectives to nouns (and rarely numerals) |