Informer
/ɪnˈfɔːr.mər/noun
A person who gives information, especially one who secretly supplies information to authorities.
Did you know?Informer descends through French and Latin from a verb meaning “to shape” or “give form,” which is why the same root family also gave English words like form, reform, and transform.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*dʰer-
“to hold, support”
Latin
Latin
formāre
“to shape, fashion, form”
Old French
Old French
enformer
“to instruct, inform, shape”
Middle English
English
enformen
“to instruct or give form to”
Modern English
English
informer
“a person who gives information, especially secretly to authorities”