Etymograph

English

hacker

Hacker comes from Middle English hackere ‘one who cuts wood, woodchopper, woodcutter’, from hakken ‘to cut (something) with a chopping action, hack’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *keg-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*keg-reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hakkōną‘to hack’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hakkōn‘to hack, chop’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150*haccian‘to hack’reconstructed
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500hakken‘to cut (something) with a chopping action, hack’
  6. Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500hackere‘one who cuts wood, woodchopper, woodcutter’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1625hacker

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*keg-reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hakkōną‘to hack’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hakkōn‘to hack, chop’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150*haccian‘to hack’reconstructed
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500hakken‘to cut (something) with a chopping action, hack’
  6. Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500hackere‘one who cuts wood, woodchopper, woodcutter’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1625hacker

Earliest quotation: 1625, Gervase Markham, Tilling: “[O]ne good hacker, being a luſty labourer, vvill at…”

Formed from hack ‘to chop or cut down in a rough manner’ + -er

Proto-Indo-European *keg-

Proto-Germanic *hakkōną ‘to chop’

Proto-West Germanic *hakkōn ‘to hack, chop’

Old English *haccian ‘to hack’

Middle English hacken

English hack

The story

Hakken is derived from Old English *haccian (‘to hack’), from Proto-West Germanic *hakkōn (‘to chop, hack’), from Proto-Germanic *hakkōną (‘to chop, hack’), from Proto-Indo-European *keg-, *keng- (‘to be sharp; a handle; a hook; a peg’). The English word may be analysed as hack (‘to chop or cut down in a rough manner’) + -er (suffix forming agent nouns).

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *keg-

hake, 6 more

through Proto-Germanic *hakkōną ‘to hack’

hatch, 4 more

through Proto-West Germanic *hakkōn ‘to hack, chop’

hock, 1 more

through Middle English hakken ‘to cut (something) with a chopping action, hack’

hacking, haggle

Today it means

noun Someone who hacks.

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

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *keg- / hacker

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