Etymograph

English

strutter

Strutter comes from Middle English stroutere ‘that which protrudes’, from Old English strūtian ‘to stand out stiffly or projectingly’, and ultimately from Proto-Germanic *strūtōną.

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*strūtōną1reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*strūtōn1reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150strūtian1‘to stand out stiffly or projectingly’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500strouten2‘to protrude or bulge’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500stroutere3‘that which protrudes’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1901strutter3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Middle English strouten
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Middle English stroutere
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English strutter
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1901, Charles Kingsley, Two Years Ago: “Which is the boaster, the strutter, the bedizener of…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*strūtōnąWiktionary, Middle English stroutenreconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*strūtōnWiktionary, Middle English stroutenreconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150strūtianWiktionary, Middle English strouten‘to stand out stiffly or projectingly’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500stroutenWiktionary, Middle English stroutere‘to protrude or bulge’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500stroutereWiktionary, English strutter‘that which protrudes’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1901strutterWiktionary, English strutter. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1901, Charles Kingsley, Two Years Ago: “Which is the boaster, the strutter, the bedizener of…”

Formed from strut + -er

Proto-Indo-European *streudʰ- ‘rigid, stiff’

Proto-Germanic *strūtōną

Old English strūtian ‘to project out’

Middle English strouten ‘to protrude or bulge’

English strut

Every English word from Proto-Germanic *strūtōną

Today it means

noun someone who struts

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “strutter”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Middle English strouten, Middle English stroutere. 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-Germanic *strūtōną / strutter

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