'feeder' originates from English, specifically the compound of 'feed' + suffix '-er', where 'feed' meant 'to give food' and '-er' marked an agent or device.

'feed' comes from Old English 'fēdan' (to feed), from Proto-Germanic '*fedaną'; the agentive suffix '-er' was added in Middle English to form 'feeder'.

Initially it meant 'one who gives food'; over time it broadened to include devices and conduits that supply food, materials, or power, and now commonly denotes any thing that supplies or feeds.