Cursor
/ˈkɝː.sɚ/noun
A moving indicator on a screen or, historically, a runner or messenger.
Did you know?Cursor comes from Latin *cursor*, “runner,” from *currere* (“to run”), the same ancient root behind words like **current** and **course**—so your computer cursor is literally a tiny runner on a digital track.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*kers-
“to run”
Latin
Latin
currere
“to run”
Latin
Latin
cursor
“runner, messenger”
Middle English
English
cursor
“a runner; later, a pointer or moving mark”
Modern English
English
cursor
“a movable indicator on a screen”