English
instructor
Instructor comes from Latin instructor ‘someone who arranges something’, from īnstruō ‘build, construct’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *strew- ‘to spread, strew’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*strew-‘to spread, strew’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*stréwetireconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*strowō‘to pile up’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEstruō‘to place one thing on top of another, to pile up, join together’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEīnstruō‘build, construct’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEinstructor‘someone who arranges something’
- Englishearliest quotation 2014same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*strew-‘to spread, strew’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*stréwetireconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*strowō‘to pile up’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEstruō‘to place one thing on top of another, to pile up, join together’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEīnstruō‘build, construct’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEinstructor‘someone who arranges something’
- Englishearliest quotation 2014same form
Earliest quotation: 2014, Jacqueline Taylor, Life without tenure: how I've found fulfilment in US academi: “According to the National Centre for Education Statistics' most…”
Formed from instruct + -or
Proto-Indo-European *strew- ‘to spread, strew’
…
Proto-Italic *strowō ‘to pile up’
Latin struō ‘pile up, arrange’
Latin īnstruō ‘I instruct’
Latin īnstrūctus ‘arranged’
English instruct
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *strew- ‘to spread, strew’
strain, straw, stray, constructive, obstruction, obstruct, perestroika, stripling, misconstrue, 9 more
through Proto-Italic *strowō ‘to pile up’
through Latin struō ‘to place one thing on top of another, to pile…’
construction, destroy, structure, destruction, destructive, construct, construe, 5 more
through Latin īnstruō ‘build, construct’
Today it means
noun One who instructs; a teacher.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *strew- / instructor