Trainer

How to spell trainer

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce trainer

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does trainer mean?

1. nounA person who teaches skills, coaches athletes, or conditions people or animals.
2. nounA soft sports or running shoe worn for exercise or casual wear.

Trainer in a sentence

• The personal trainer designed a six-week fitness plan for the new client.

• She laced up her trainer before the morning run around the park.

• Our company hired a trainer to teach the team how to use the new software.

• He bought a new pair of trainer because the sole had worn through.

Where does trainer come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The base verb 'train' came into English in the late 1300s from the Old French 'trainer', meaning 'to drag, pull, or draw along', which traces back to the Latin 'trahere', literally 'to pull or drag'. The earliest English senses were about dragging things and about a trailing part, such as the train of a gown that draws along behind. From the idea of drawing a person or animal in a chosen direction grew the modern meaning of guiding, instructing, and conditioning, recorded from the 1500s. The agent suffix '-er' was then added to give 'trainer', a person or device that trains, and that same suffix is what learners must remember: the word is simply 'train' plus '-er', not a doubled or altered spelling. In British use the noun later shifted onto footwear, since the shoes were worn during athletic training. The shared 'trahere' root also lies behind 'tractor', 'trail', and 'retract'.

How the word is built

• train (to instruct or prepare, from Latin trahere 'to pull, draw')
• -er (agent or instrument suffix: 'one who trains' or 'thing used to train')