English
fother
Fother comes from Middle English fother ‘wagonload’, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *fōdrą.
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fōdrąreconstructed
- Old Norsec. 800–1350fóðr
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fother‘wagonload’
- Englishearliest quotation 1663same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fōdrąreconstructed
- Old Norsec. 800–1350fóðr
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fother‘wagonload’
- Englishearliest quotation 1663same form
Earliest quotation: 1663, Samuel Butler, Hudibras: “He ripp'd the womb up of his mother, /…”
Linked words
through Proto-Germanic *fōdrą
Today it means
noun A load, a wagonload, especially any various English units of weight or volume based upon standardized cartloads of certain commodities.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *fōdrą / fother