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English word origin

Etymology of rower

From Middle English rower, rowere, roware, equivalent to row + -er. Cognate with Dutch roeier (“rower”), Danish roer (“rower”), Norwegian roer (“rower”). Compare also Old English rōwend (“rower”).

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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

One who rows. · A rowing machine.

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

From Middle English rower, rowere, roware, equivalent to row + -er. Cognate with Dutch roeier (“rower”), Danish roer (“rower”), Norwegian roer (“rower”). Compare also Old English rōwend (“rower”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Inherited-form mentionrowerenm
  • Word-formation componentrowen
  • Word-formation component-eren
  • Cognate mentionroeiernl · rower
  • Cognate mentionroerda · rower
  • Cognate mentionroerno · rower
  • Cognate mentionrōwendang · rower
Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "rower"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English rower"
    },
    {
      "name": "affix",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "row",
        "3": "-er",
        "id2": "agent noun"
      },
      "expansion": "row + -er"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "roeier",
        "t": "rower"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch roeier (“rower”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "da",
        "2": "roer",
        "t": "rower"
      },
      "expansion": "Danish roer (“rower”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "no",
        "2": "roer",
        "t": "rower"
      },
      "expansion": "Norwegian roer (“rower”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ang",
        "2": "rōwend",
        "t": "rower"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English rōwend (“rower”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "rower",
      "rower#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "rowere",
      "rowere#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "roware",
      "roware#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "row",
      "row#English"
    ],
    [
      "-er",
      "-er#English:_agent_noun"
    ],
    [
      "roeier",
      "roeier#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "roer",
      "roer#Danish"
    ],
    [
      "roer",
      "roer#Norwegian"
    ],
    [
      "rōwend",
      "rowend#Old_English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "One who rows.",
        "A rowing machine."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "baa11d1957e821c969721c7541e3cffb28c74f8700946d7be830a8af9dede3fd",
      "rawRecordSha256": "4ff83d033911447b2513ae1015a9407f207b1774e807596dc32c192558e373ff",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 775568
    }
  ],
  "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 rower →

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-cm93ZXI