English

forestaller

Forestaller comes from Middle English forstaller.

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

Formed from forestall + -er

Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- ‘to stand’

Proto-Germanic *stallaz ‘standing, position, stall, stable’

Old English steall ‘position, location’

Old English foresteall ‘intervention, hindrance of justice, ambush’

Middle English forestallen ‘to forestall, intercept, ambush, way-lay’

Every English word from Middle English forstaller

noun One who preemptively purchases goods in order to drive up their market price for resale.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.