Etymograph

English

compositor

Compositor comes from French compositeur ‘composer’, from Latin compōnō ‘to arrange’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *tḱey- ‘to cultivate’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tḱey-1‘to cultivate’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tḱinéti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sinō1‘to put in place’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pozinō1reconstructed
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpōnō1‘put’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcompōnō2‘to arrange’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcompositor3‘a maker, arranger, composer’perfect passive participle of compōnō
  8. Frenchc. 1600–presentcompositeur3‘composer’
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1892compositor3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin compono
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin compositor
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English compositor
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1892, Walter Besant, Prologue: Who is Edmund Gray?: “Thus, when he drew up instructions in lawyer language…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tḱey-Wiktionary, Latin compono‘to cultivate’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tḱinétiWiktionary, Latin componoreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sinōWiktionary, Latin compono‘to put in place’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pozinōWiktionary, Latin componoreconstructed
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpōnōWiktionary, Latin compono‘put’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcompōnōWiktionary, Latin compositor‘to arrange’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcompositorWiktionary, English compositor‘a maker, arranger, composer’perfect passive participle of compōnō
  8. Frenchc. 1600–presentcompositeurWiktionary, English compositor‘composer’
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1892compositorWiktionary, English compositor. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1892, Walter Besant, Prologue: Who is Edmund Gray?: “Thus, when he drew up instructions in lawyer language…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *tḱey- ‘to cultivate’

suppose, homeless, hamlet, bohemian, impose, homely, hame, 52 more

through Proto-Indo-European *tḱinéti

prepositional, apposite, 40 more

through Proto-Italic *sinō ‘to put in place’

site, situation, posture, supposition, preposition, situate, positivism, situs, compostela, 42 more

through Proto-Italic *pozinō

opposition, proposition, exposition, deposition, disposition, imposition, presupposition, impost, suppository, 26 more

through Latin pōnō ‘put’

post, position, purpose, positive, opponent, opposite, propose, expose, consolation, dispose, proponent, exponent, repository, expound, posit, pone, presuppose, 54 more

through Latin compōnō ‘to arrange’

component, 7 more

Today it means

noun A person who sets type; a typesetter.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “compositor”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin compono, Latin compositor. 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 *tḱey- / compositor

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