Etymograph

English

asker

Asker comes from Middle English asker ‘one who prays towards or supplicates a divinity’, from asken ‘to ask for’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eys- ‘to request’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂eys-1‘to request’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂isḱéti1‘to be seeking, searching’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*aiskaz1reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*aisk2‘claim’reconstructed
  5. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*aiskōn3‘to claim’reconstructed
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150āscian3‘to ask’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500asken4‘to ask for’
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500asker5‘one who prays towards or supplicates a divinity’
  9. Englishtodayasker5

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *aisk
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *aiskōn
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Middle English asken
  4. 4 Wiktionary, Middle English asker
  5. 5 Wiktionary, English asker

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂eys-Wiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *aisk‘to request’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂isḱétiWiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *aisk‘to be seeking, searching’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*aiskazWiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *aiskreconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*aiskWiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *aiskōn‘claim’reconstructed
  5. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*aiskōnWiktionary, Middle English asken‘to claim’reconstructed
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150āscianWiktionary, Middle English asken‘to ask’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500askenWiktionary, Middle English asker‘to ask for’
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500askerWiktionary, English asker‘one who prays towards or supplicates a divinity’
  9. EnglishtodayaskerWiktionary, English asker

Formed from ask + -er

Proto-Indo-European *h₂eys- ‘to wish’

…

Proto-West Germanic *aisk ‘question’

Proto-West Germanic *aiskōn ‘to claim’

Old English āscian ‘to ask’

Middle English asken ‘to ask about’

English ask

Linked words

through Proto-West Germanic *aiskōn ‘to claim’

asking, 1 more

through Old English āscian ‘to ask’

axe, ax, aks, 1 more

through Middle English asken ‘to ask for’

ask, 1 more

Another origin of asker

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ascre
  2. Englishtodayasker

Today it means

noun Someone who asks a question.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “asker”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-West Germanic *aisk, Proto-West Germanic *aiskōn, Middle English asken, Middle English asker. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₂eys- / asker

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