Where does “полотёр” come from?

полотёр (Russian) comes from Russian пол, from Old East Slavic полъ, from Proto-Slavic polъ, from Proto-Indo-European (s)pelH- — to split off, separate; to chop, to separate.

полотёр (Russian): floor polisher

Definitions

  1. floor polisher

Ancestry of “полотёр”, step by step

полотёр traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Russian пол

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Russianполfloor; sex, gender; short masculine singular of...
2Old East Slavicполъfloor
3Proto-Slavicpolъside, flank; half; member of a pair of options →...
4Proto-Indo-European(s)pelH-to split off, separate; to chop, to separate

via Russian тере́ть

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Russianтере́тьto rub
2Proto-Slavictertito rub, to scrape; to polish
3Proto-Indo-Europeanterh₁-to rub, turn; to drill, pierce
Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)pelH- →Every word from Proto-Slavic polъ →Every word from Old East Slavic полъ →