English
compere
Compere comes from French compère ‘partner, accomplice’, from Late Latin compater ‘godfather’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂- ‘to protect, to ward’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*peh₂-1‘to protect, to ward’uncertain
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ph₂tḗr1‘father’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*patēr1‘father’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpater2‘father’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEcompater2‘godfather’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400comper2
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600comper3
- Frenchc. 1600–presentcompère2‘partner, accomplice’
- Englishearliest quotation 2008compere2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin pater
- 2 Wiktionary, English compere
- 3 Wiktionary, French compère
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2008, Kerry Katona, The Footballer's Wife: “The compere came onto the stage holding the gold…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*peh₂-Wiktionary, Latin pater‘to protect, to ward’uncertain
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ph₂tḗrWiktionary, Latin pater‘father’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*patērWiktionary, Latin pater‘father’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpaterWiktionary, English compere‘father’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEcompaterWiktionary, English compere‘godfather’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400comperWiktionary, English compere
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600comperWiktionary, French compère
- Frenchc. 1600–presentcompèreWiktionary, English compere‘partner, accomplice’
- Englishearliest quotation 2008compereWiktionary, English compere. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2008, Kerry Katona, The Footballer's Wife: “The compere came onto the stage holding the gold…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *peh₂- ‘to protect, to ward’
food, pain, company, feed, apparent, pope, foster, pastor, fur, companion, penetration, papal, fad, pasture, fodder, forage, accompaniment, panini, patrician, pav, fatherly, pantaloons, pannier, 56 more
through Proto-Indo-European *ph₂tḗr ‘father’
through Proto-Italic *patēr ‘father’
through Latin pater ‘father’
pattern, papa, patron, paternal, paternity, perpetrator, padre, patrimony, pater, perpetrate, 17 more
Today it means
noun A master of ceremonies, especially for a television, variety, or quiz show.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “compere”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin pater, French compère. 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 *peh₂- / compere