English
reader
Reader comes from Old English rēdere ‘a reader’, and goes back to Proto-West Germanic *rādāri.
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*rādārireconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150rēdere‘a reader’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500reder
- Englishearliest quotation 1834reader
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*rādārireconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150rēdere‘a reader’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500reder
- Englishearliest quotation 1834reader
Earliest quotation: 1834, Letitia Elizabeth Landon, Francesca Carrara. […]: “I am commissioned by the Queen to offer you…”
Formed from read + -er
Proto-Indo-European *Hreh₁dʰ- ‘to think, arrange’
…
Proto-Germanic *rēdaną ‘advise’
Proto-West Germanic *rādan ‘to advise’
Old English rǣdan ‘to counsel’
Middle English reden ‘to counsel’
English read
Linked words
through Proto-West Germanic *rādāri
Today it means
noun A person who reads.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-West Germanic *rādāri / reader