Fisher
I used to think that fisher was a made-up gender-neutral word so that we did not have to say fisherman or fisherwoman anymore. No. Fisher is the original word.
The origin of the word fish is not certain; however, perhaps it comes from the Proto-Indo-European (PIE) root pisk (fish) and Proto-Germanic fiskaz, the source of words such as Old Saxon and Old High German fisc, Old Norse fiskr, Dutch vis, German Fisch, and Old English fisc—all meaning fish. The closer a word is to heart and home, it seems that the less it changes over the centuries.
The word Old English word fiscere meant both a fisherman and a kingfisher. Only in the 1520s do we see the word fisherman. The first known use of the word fisherwoman is from 1816.
Reference: Online Etymological Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com/
The origin of the word fish is not certain; however, perhaps it comes from the Proto-Indo-European (PIE) root pisk (fish) and Proto-Germanic fiskaz, the source of words such as Old Saxon and Old High German fisc, Old Norse fiskr, Dutch vis, German Fisch, and Old English fisc—all meaning fish. The closer a word is to heart and home, it seems that the less it changes over the centuries.
The word Old English word fiscere meant both a fisherman and a kingfisher. Only in the 1520s do we see the word fisherman. The first known use of the word fisherwoman is from 1816.
Reference: Online Etymological Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com/
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