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INDO-EUROPEAN & SEMITIC ROOTS APPENDICES
Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:
The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.
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tr.v. pes·tered, pes·ter·ing, pes·ters To annoy persistently, as with repeated demands or questions. See Synonyms at harass. [Probably short for French empestrer, to constrain, embarrass (probably also influenced by PEST), from Old French, from Vulgar Latin *impāstōriāre : Latin in-, in; see IN-2 + Vulgar Latin *pāstōria, a hobble, from Latin, feminine of pāstōrius, of a herdsman (from pāstor, herdsman; see pā- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots).] pester·er n. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2018 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
