'axer' originates from English, specifically formed from the verb 'axe' (also spelled 'ax') plus the agentive suffix '-er'. The noun/verb 'axe' itself comes from Old English 'æx' (axe), from Proto-Germanic '*aksą', meaning 'axe'.

'axe' changed from Old English 'æx' (and related Proto-Germanic '*aksą') into Middle and Modern English as 'axe'/'ax'; the agentive suffix '-er' (from Old English '-ere', from Proto-Germanic) was added in Modern English to form 'axer' meaning 'one who uses an axe' or figuratively 'one who cuts'.

Initially related to the tool 'axe' (the implement for cutting), the formation 'axer' extended to mean 'one who cuts with an axe' and later developed a figurative sense of 'one who cuts or cancels (e.g., jobs, projects)'.