English
climber
Climber comes from Middle English clymbere ‘one who climbs, climber’, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *klimbaną.
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*klimbaną‘to climb’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*klimban‘to climb’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150climban‘to climb’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500clymbenas climben‘to climb’
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500clymbere‘one who climbs, climber’
- Englishearliest quotation 1977climber
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*klimbaną‘to climb’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*klimban‘to climb’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150climban‘to climb’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500clymbenas climben‘to climb’
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500clymbere‘one who climbs, climber’
- Englishearliest quotation 1977climber
Earliest quotation: 1977, Robert Etherington, John Horne Burns and His Enemies: “His mother was a climber, determined that her children…”
Formed from climb + -er
Proto-Germanic *klimbaną ‘to climb, go up by clinging’
Proto-West Germanic *klimban ‘to climb’
Old English climban ‘to climb’
Middle English climben
English climb
The story
The English word is analysable as climb (verb) + -er (suffix forming agent nouns).
Linked words
through Proto-Germanic *klībaną ‘to stick, cleave’
Today it means
noun Someone or something that climbs (such as a mountain climber).
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *klimbaną / climber