The word 'struggler' is a transparent English formation, combining the native verb 'struggle' with the ubiquitous agent suffix '-er'. The verb 'struggle' itself entered Middle English in the 14th century, its origins obscured but likely influenced by Old French. Its core sense has consistently involved strenuous physical effort or contention. The '-er' suffix, with deep Germanic roots, systematically creates nouns for persons from verbs. Thus, a 'struggler' is, quite logically, "one who struggles," a term that concretizes the abstract action into a human agent, typically implying persistent effort amid hardship or limited success.

Structure: struggl(e) (to struggle) + er (agent suffix) - struggl(e): From the verb 'struggle', of uncertain origin, possibly from a frequentative form related to Middle English 'strogelen' or Old French 'estrogueler'. Its functional role is the core verb stem denoting the action of striving against difficulty. - er: A Germanic agent noun suffix (from Old English -ere, from Proto-Germanic -ārijaz), indicating a person who performs the action of the verb.