The story
- Latin · derived fromaltus“high”
- Vulgar Latin · derived from*altiāre“to raise”
- Anglo-Norman · derived fromhaucer
- Middle English · inherited fromhauser
- English todayhawser
From Middle English hauser, haucer, from Anglo-Norman haucer, from Vulgar Latin *altiāre (“to raise”), derived from Latin altus (“high”). Altered in English by mistaken association with hawse and perhaps haul. Compare French aussière, haussière.
Words from the same roots
Latinaltus all →
altaltimeterhaughtyaltometer
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.