Etymology

dreamcatcher

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Today it means: A decorative Native American object in the form of a hoop and net with attachments such as feathers, traditionally believed by the Ojibwa to “filter out” bad dreams. Full definition →

English catcher ← Middle English cacchen ← Anglo-Norman cachier
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*dʰrewgʰ-
  2. Proto-Germanic*draumaz
  3. Proto-West Germanic*draum
  4. Old Englishdrēam
  5. Middle Englishdrem
  6. Englishdream
  7. Proto-Indo-European*kap-
  8. Proto-Indo-European*kapyéti
  9. Proto-Indo-European*kaptós
  10. Proto-Italic*kaptos
  11. Latincaptus
  12. Vulgar Latin*captiāre
  13. Old Frenchchacier
  14. Anglo-Normancachier
  15. Middle Englishcacchen
  16. Englishcatch
  17. Englishcatcher
  18. English todaydreamcatcher

From dream + catcher.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.