English
train
Train comes from Middle English trayne, from Old French train ‘a delay, a drawing out’, from trainer ‘to draw’, ultimately from Latin trahō ‘to pull’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtrahō‘to pull, to draw’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CE*tragōreconstructed
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*traginōreconstructed
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400trainer‘to pull out, to draw’
- Old French, derivedc. 842–1400train‘a delay, a drawing out’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500trayne‘train’
- Englishearliest quotation 1530train
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtrahō‘to pull, to draw’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CE*tragōreconstructed
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*traginōreconstructed
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400trainer‘to pull out, to draw’
- Old French, derivedc. 842–1400train‘a delay, a drawing out’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500trayne‘train’
- Englishearliest quotation 1530train
Earliest quotation: 1530, Of the Verbe: “[I]t pleaſed the grekes at that tyme to ſe…”
The story
For the meaning to teach compare typologically Russian ната́скивать (natáskivatʹ) (akin to тащи́ть (taščítʹ)).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *dʰregʰ- ‘to run, to drag, to pull’
draw, draft, attractive, drag, retreat, attraction, portrait, distraction, extraction, tract, draught, entreat, 53 more
Today it means
noun The elongated back portion of a dress or skirt (or an ornamental piece of material added to similar effect), which drags along the ground.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin trahō / train