DictionaryRoot: -eor
Old French
-eor
a person who performs an action
Forms
- -eor
- -eur — A later French development.
- -or — One English form influenced by Latin spelling.
Origin
From Latin -ator and related action-person endings through Old French sound changes.
Note
Later spelling sometimes restored a Latin appearance to a word that had passed through French.
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noun
commander
kuh-MAN-der/kəˈmændər/
A person invested with authority to lead a force.
Etymology
A commander is literally someone who gives orders with authority. The military sense applies that general role to a person empowered to direct troops or operations.