'commuter' originates from English, from the verb 'commute', ultimately from Latin, specifically the word 'commutare', where 'com-' meant 'together' and 'mutare' meant 'to change'.

'commuter' changed from the English verb 'commute' (which came from Latin 'commutare'); the noun 'commuter' developed in the mid-19th century with the rise of regular rail travel and eventually became the modern English noun 'commuter'.

Initially, the Latin root meant 'to change' or 'to exchange'; over time English 'commute' acquired senses including 'to substitute or reduce (a sentence)' and later 'to travel regularly between home and work', and the noun 'commuter' came to mean 'a person who makes such regular journeys'.