Etymology

goalkeeper

goal·keep·er
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Today it means: A designated player that attempts to prevent the opposing team from scoring by protecting a goal. Full definition →

English keeper ← Middle English gol ← Old English *gāl
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*ǵʰeh₂-
  2. Proto-Germanic*gailō
  3. Proto-West Germanic*gailu
  4. Old English*gāl
  5. Middle Englishgol
  6. Englishgoal
  7. Englishkeeper
  8. English todaygoalkeeper

From goal + keeper.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.