Where does “witchfinder” come from?
witchfinder (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.
witchfinder (English): A person employed to carry out witch-hunts and...
Definitions
- A person employed to carry out witch-hunts and...
Ancestry of “witchfinder”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | finder | One who finds or discovers something; An optical... |
| 2 | German | Finder | finder |
| 3 | German | -er | Forms agent nouns etc. from verbs, suffixed to... |
| 4 | Old High German | -āri | — |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | -ārī | -er |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | -ārijaz | -er |
| 7 | Latin | -ārius | — |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | *-āzios | — |