teacher

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ˈtiː.tʃə/, US /ˈtiː.tʃɚ/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English techer,^[2][3] formed from Middle English techen (“to teach”) + -er, from the verb teach and the agent suffix -er.^[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

That which shows or points out, especially the index finger: about 1290 in the OED,^[5] the early 14th century in Etymonline,^[2] a sense found only in Middle English.^[4]

Semantic evolution

A person who gives moral guidance is from the mid-14th century,^[2] and one who gives instruction in a field or craft from the late 14th.^[2][5] By about 1400 it could also mean an animal trainer.^[2] The feminine teacheress is from the late 14th century, of Wisdom, translating Latin doctrix.^[2] In New England Congregational churches a teacher was a church officer (1834),^[5] and in the Mormon church it is a rank above deacon.^[6] Teacher's pet is from 1856 and teacher's aide by 1956.^[2]

Timeline

• c. 1290 – an indicator; the index finger.^[5]
• mid-14th century – a moral guide.^[2]
• late 14th century – an instructor.^[2]
• late 14th century – teacheress.^[2]
• c. 1400 – an animal trainer.^[2]
• 1856 – teacher's pet.^[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A person who teaches, especially one employed to instruct in a school.
2. Something that teaches: experience is the best teacher.
3. In the Mormon church, a member of the Aaronic priesthood ranking above a deacon.

Word family

• teacherless
• teachership
• nonteacher
• teacherage
• underteacher
• schoolteacher
• teacherly
• parent-teacher association

Related words

• teach
• token
• teaching

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster