*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of cager

From cage + -er.

1 source sectionBrief source recordWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
noun

A person or machine responsible for managing a mineshaft cage. · A basketball player, from the time when games were played in a wire mesh enclosure. · A person who drives an automobile, particularly for commuting.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From cage + -er.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":af",
        "3": "cage",
        "4": "-er<id:occupation>",
        "text": "+",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "From cage + -er."
    },
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":af",
        "3": "cage",
        "4": "-er<id:occupation>",
        "text": "+",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nEnglish cage\nProto-Indo-European *-eh₂\nProto-Indo-European *-os?\nProto-Indo-European *-o-\nProto-Indo-European *-so-\nProto-Indo-European *-eh₂so-\nProto-Indo-European *-yós\nProto-Indo-European *-eh₂s(i)yós\nProto-Italic *-āsijos\nProto-Italic *-āsios\nLatin -āriusnom.\nLatin -āriusbor.\nProto-Germanic *-ārijaz\nProto-West Germanic *-ārī\nOld English -ere\nMiddle English -ere\n▲\nLatin -ārius\nOld French -ierbor.\nMiddle English -er\nEnglish -er\nEnglish cager\nFrom cage + -er."
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "cage",
      "cage#English"
    ],
    [
      "-er",
      "-er#English:_occupation"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A person or machine responsible for managing a mineshaft cage.",
        "A basketball player, from the time when games were played in a wire mesh enclosure.",
        "A person who drives an automobile, particularly for commuting."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "dated",
        "informal",
        "derogatory"
      ],
      "recordId": "03b9e0ade843371da82a032695b8ba728e7c7a50fb0cb6e1a7b04eb816bc9e6b",
      "rawRecordSha256": "c31656b6de601f73be914c437937a596868d6853511d3ab79305c89f9a344d98",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 228468
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for cager →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-Y2FnZXI