Etymograph

English

cater

Cater comes from Old French acater ‘to buy, to purchase’, from Latin capto ‘to strive to seize, catch or grasp at’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kap-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kap-1reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kapyéti1‘to be grasping’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kapjō2‘to take, seize’reconstructed
  4. Archaic Latinc. 700–75 BCEkapiō2
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcapiō3‘take, capture’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcapto4‘to strive to seize, catch or grasp at’
  7. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*accaptāre5‘purchase’reconstructed
  8. Old Frenchc. 842–1400acater6‘to buy, to purchase’
  9. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500catour6‘acater, provisioner’
  10. Englishearliest quotation c. 1400cater6

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Italic *kapjō
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin capio, which cites LIV
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Latin capto
  4. 4 Wiktionary, Latin accaptare
  5. 5 Wiktionary, Old French acheter
  6. 6 Wiktionary, English cater
  7. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1400, Gamelyn: “I am oure Catour and bere oure Alther purse.”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kap-Wiktionary, Proto-Italic *kapjōreconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kapyétiWiktionary, Proto-Italic *kapjō‘to be grasping’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kapjōWiktionary, Latin capio, which cites LIV‘to take, seize’reconstructed
  4. Archaic Latinc. 700–75 BCEkapiōWiktionary, Latin capio, which cites LIV
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcapiōWiktionary, Latin capto‘take, capture’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcaptoWiktionary, Latin accaptare‘to strive to seize, catch or grasp at’
  7. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*accaptāreWiktionary, Old French acheter‘purchase’reconstructed
  8. Old Frenchc. 842–1400acaterWiktionary, English cater‘to buy, to purchase’
  9. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500catourWiktionary, English cater‘acater, provisioner’
  10. Englishearliest quotation c. 1400caterWiktionary, English cater. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1400, Gamelyn: “I am oure Catour and bere oure Alther purse.”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *kap-

had, head, except, heavy, capital, behavior, captain, achieve, heavily, capacity, escape, catch, chef, chapter, acceptance, haven, chapel, occupation, behave, cape, cabin, hawk, capitol, cattle, capita, precipitation, captive, chaplain, conceive, captivity, mischief, conceivable, mischievous, cad, haves, chieftain, capillary, occipital, acceptability, heaviness, 137 more

through Proto-Indo-European *kapyéti ‘to be grasping’

heave, heaving, heft, 27 more

through Proto-Italic *kapjō ‘to take, seize’

case, chassis, capsule, cashier, casket, cassette, kas, cajon, chasse, 26 more

through Archaic Latin kapiō

acceptable, imperceptible, 23 more

through Latin capiō ‘take, capture’

accept, receive, cash, capable, cop, cable, recipe, reception, capture, perception, recipient, susceptible, deception, anticipation, caption, deceive, anticipate, deceptive, deceit, receivable, preoccupation, perceptible, captor, preceptor, captivate, 25 more

through Latin capto ‘to strive to seize, catch or grasp at’

chase, sashay, 3 more

Another origin of cater

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷetwóres‘four’uncertain
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquattuor‘four’uncertain
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400quatre‘four’uncertain
  4. Frenchc. 1600–presentquatre‘four’uncertain
  5. Englishtodaycater

Probably ultimately from French quatre (‘four’), possibly via cater (‘change-ringing’), although Liberman argues for a derivation from a North Germanic prefix meaning "crooked, angled, clumsy" from which he also derives cater-cousin and, via Norse, Old Irish cittach (‘left-handed, awkward’). He finds this more likely than extension of the dice and change-ringing term cater as an adverb, given the likely cognates in other Germanic languages. Caterpillar and caterwaul are unrelated, being derived from cognates to cat, but may have influenced the pronunciation of Liberman's proposed earlier *cate- or undergone similar sound changes.

Another origin of cater

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷetwóres‘four’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquattuor‘four’
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400quatre‘four’
  4. Frenchc. 1600–presentquatre‘four’
  5. Englishtodaycater

Today it means

verb To provide, particularly

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “cater”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Italic *kapjō, Latin capio, Latin capto, Latin accaptare, Old French acheter. 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 *kap- / cater

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