'go-getter' originates from American English, formed from the verb 'go' + the verb 'get' plus the agentive suffix '-er'.

'go-getter' emerged in early 20th-century American slang, built on phrases like 'go and get' or 'to go get', and entered mainstream English as the compound 'go-getter'.

Initially it meant 'someone who energetically goes after things'; that core sense has largely remained though the term moved from informal slang into neutral or positive mainstream usage.