Etymograph

English

hunter

Hunter comes from Middle English huntere, equivalent to hunt + -er.

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500huntere1‘hunter’
  2. Englishearliest quotation c. 1601–1602hunter1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English hunter
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1601–1602, William Shakespeare, Twelfe Night, or What You Will: “thy intercepter, full of despite, bloody as the hunter,…”.

Lineage

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500huntereWiktionary, English hunter‘hunter’
  2. Englishearliest quotation c. 1601–1602hunterWiktionary, English hunter. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1601–1602, William Shakespeare, Twelfe Night, or What You Will: “thy intercepter, full of despite, bloody as the hunter,…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ḱent-

centre, hint, 8 more

through Middle English hunten ‘to hunt’

hunting, 1 more

through Middle English huntere ‘a hunter’

1 more

Today it means

noun One who hunts game for sport or for food; a huntsman or huntswoman.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “hunter”. 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 / Middle English huntere / hunter

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