Etymograph

English

killer

Killer comes from Middle English killer.

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500killer1
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1734killer1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English killer
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1734, Royal society of London, Volume 9: “Theſe Killers are from twenty to thirty Feet long,…”.

Lineage

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500killerWiktionary, English killer
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1734killerWiktionary, English killer. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1734, Royal society of London, Volume 9: “Theſe Killers are from twenty to thirty Feet long,…”

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Today it means

noun One who or that which kills.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “killer”. 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 killer / killer