Etymograph

English

farmer

Farmer comes from Middle English fermour ‘a steward, bailliff, collector of taxes’, from Medieval Latin firma ‘rent’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *perkʷ- ‘life, force, strength, tree’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*perkʷ-1‘life, force, strength, tree’uncertain
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*ferhwō1‘life force, body, being’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fermō1‘means of living, subsistence’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*fermu2reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150feorm1‘rent, provision, supplies, feast’
  6. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500firma3‘rent’
  7. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500firmarius3‘one to whom land is rented, a collector of taxes, deputy’
  8. Old Frenchc. 842–1400fermier3‘a farmer, a lessee, husbandman, bailliff’
  9. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fermour3‘a steward, bailliff, collector of taxes’
  10. Englishearliest quotation 2012farmer3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin firma
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Old English feorm
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English farmer
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2012, An internet of airborne things: “A farmer could place an order for a new…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*perkʷ-Wiktionary, Latin firma‘life, force, strength, tree’uncertain
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*ferhwōWiktionary, Latin firma‘life force, body, being’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fermōWiktionary, Latin firma‘means of living, subsistence’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*fermuWiktionary, Old English feormreconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150feormWiktionary, Latin firma‘rent, provision, supplies, feast’
  6. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500firmaWiktionary, English farmer‘rent’
  7. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500firmariusWiktionary, English farmer‘one to whom land is rented, a collector of taxes, deputy’
  8. Old Frenchc. 842–1400fermierWiktionary, English farmer‘a farmer, a lessee, husbandman, bailliff’
  9. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fermourWiktionary, English farmer‘a steward, bailliff, collector of taxes’
  10. Englishearliest quotation 2012farmerWiktionary, English farmer. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2012, An internet of airborne things: “A farmer could place an order for a new…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *perkʷ- ‘life, force, strength, tree’

ever, forest, fir, firth, frith, 1 more

through Old English feorm ‘rent, provision, supplies, feast’

firm, 1 more

Today it means

noun Someone or something that farms, as: A person who works the land and/or who keeps livestock; anyone engaged in agriculture on a farm.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “farmer”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin firma, Old English feorm. 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 *perkʷ- / farmer

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