Etymologically
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teacher

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 15 October 2026 at 18:37. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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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

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