English
hafter
Hafter comes from Middle English hafter ‘a caviler’.
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500hafter‘a caviler’
- Englishearliest quotation 1850same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500hafter‘a caviler’
- Englishearliest quotation 1850same form
Earliest quotation: 1850, Bernard Bird: “I found it difficult to obtain a situation to…”
Formed from haft + -er
Proto-Indo-European *kap-
…
Proto-Germanic *haftiją ‘haft, handle’
Proto-West Germanic *haftī
Old English hæft ‘a handle, the haft of a weapon’
Middle English haft
English haft
Every English word from Middle English hafter
Today it means
noun A maker of handles for knives and other tools
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Middle English hafter / hafter