English
opener
Opener comes from Middle English oppinnare, and goes back to Old English openere.
- Old Englishc. 450–1150openere
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500oppinnare
- Englishearliest quotation 1863opener
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Old Englishc. 450–1150openere
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500oppinnare
- Englishearliest quotation 1863opener
Earliest quotation: 1863, The British Controversialist: And Litera: “Have you, like the opener of this debate, discovered,…”
Formed from open + -er
Proto-Indo-European *upo ‘up from under, over’
Proto-Germanic *upanaz ‘open’
Proto-West Germanic *opan
Old English open ‘open’
Middle English open
English open
Every English word from Old English openere
Today it means
noun A person who opens something.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Old English openere / opener