Etymology

hammer

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Today it means: A tool with a heavy head and a handle used for pounding. Full definition →

Middle English hamer ← Old English hamor ← Proto-West Germanic *hamar
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hammer · noun, verb1

  1. Proto-Germanic*hamaraz
  2. Proto-West Germanic*hamar
  3. Old Englishhamor
  4. Middle Englishhamer
  5. English todayhammer

From Middle English hamer, from Old English hamor, from Proto-West Germanic *hamar, from Proto-Germanic *hamaraz (“tool with a stone head”) (compare West Frisian hammer, Low German Hamer, Dutch hamer, German Hammer, Danish hammer, Swedish hammare). This is traditionally ascribed to Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱmoros, from *h₂éḱmō (“stone”), but see *hamaraz for further discussion. (declare a defaulter on the stock exchange): Originally signalled by knocking with a wooden mallet.

Hammer · noun, proper noun2

Shortened West Ham + -er, with a pun on hammer.

Words from the same roots

Middle Englishhamer all →

hammer pond

Old Englishhamor all →

HamerHammertonHamertonhammer pond

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.