kidder

The term 'kidder' has a playful and informal lineage. It originates from the verb 'to kid', a 19th-century Americanism meaning to tease or hoax. This verb likely evolved from the earlier noun 'kid', a slang term for a child, which can be traced back to the Old Norse 'kið', meaning a young goat. The semantic connection flows from the playful, frisky behavior of a young goat to the mischievous nature of a child, and finally to the act of playful teasing. By adding the agentive suffix '-er', the word 'kidder' was formed to specifically denote a person who habitually engages in such good-natured joking or deception.

The word 'kidder' is a simplex noun formed by adding the agentive suffix '-er' to the verb 'kid'. The verb 'kid' (meaning to tease playfully) is of uncertain origin, possibly from the earlier noun 'kid' (meaning a child), which itself comes from Middle English 'kid' or 'kide', from Old Norse 'kið' (young goat).