Prowler

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈpɹaʊlɚ/

Definitions

1. A stealthy individual who navigates through a space, often seeking to avoid detection while searching for something valuable or illicit
2. A person that moves quietly and cautiously through an area, usually aiming to find something concealed or to commit an unlawful act
3. Someone who moves around quietly and secretly in order to spy or engage in illegal activities

Etymology: "Prowler" is simply "prowl" with the agent suffix "-er," and the suffix has a longer history than the verb it is attached to. The "-er" ending descends from Latin "-arius," which denoted a person connected with a trade or role, and it travelled into English through Old French "-ier," later reaching Middle English as "-er" and passing along the Old English "-ere" line as well. Those routes converged, so English speakers have been adding this ending to native verbs for centuries. The base word "prowl" is the more mysterious part of the story, and the source offers no firm history for it beyond its own formation. What can be said is that "prowler" describes someone whose movement is stealthy and furtive, the sense of creeping about with purpose that the word has carried since it came into use.

Synonyms: stalker, intruder

Antonyms: protector, guardian