Etymograph

English

taser

Taser comes from Old French rifler ‘to scrape off, tear off, flay’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *h₁reyp-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁reyp-1‘to tear, tear down’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*rīfaną1‘to tear, rend’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*rīfilōną1reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*rīfilōn1‘to scrape, scratch’reconstructed
  5. Frankishc. 250–700*rīffilōn1reconstructed
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400rifler1‘to scrape off, tear off, flay’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500riflen1
  8. English1500–presentrifle1
  9. Englishtodaytaser1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English taser

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁reyp-Wiktionary, English taser‘to tear, tear down’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*rīfanąWiktionary, English taser‘to tear, rend’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*rīfilōnąWiktionary, English taserreconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*rīfilōnWiktionary, English taser‘to scrape, scratch’reconstructed
  5. Frankishc. 250–700*rīffilōnWiktionary, English taserreconstructed
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400riflerWiktionary, English taser‘to scrape off, tear off, flay’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500riflenWiktionary, English taser
  8. English1500–presentrifleWiktionary, English taser
  9. EnglishtodaytaserWiktionary, English taser

The story

Coined in the early 1970s by the inventor Jack Cover originally as TSER, to which he later added the letter A to ease pronunciation.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₁reyp- ‘to tear, tear down’

river, arrive, rope, ripe, reap, rife, riviera, riparian, 4 more

through Proto-Germanic *rīfaną ‘to tear, rend’

rive

through Middle English riflen

rifle

Today it means

noun A Taser, a handheld device made by Taser International intended to immobilize another by delivering an electric shock.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “taser”. 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 *h₁reyp- / taser

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