Where does “Mahomedan” come from?

Mahomedan comes from English Mahomed, influenced by Italian -ana and Spanish -ana suffixes, ultimately from Latin -anus, which derived from Proto-Italic -os.

Mahomedan (English): Alternative form of Mohammedan

Definitions

  1. Alternative form of Mohammedan

Ancestry of “Mahomedan”, step by step

Mahomedan traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English Mahomed

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishMahomedthe prophet who introduced Islam
2Arabicمُحَمَّدpraised, commendable, laudable; Muhammad
3Classical Persianجَان—
4Middle Persian𐫃𐫏𐫀𐫗—
5Proto-Iranian*wyaHnáH—
6Proto-Indo-IranianwyaHnás—
7Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂enh₁‑to breathe

via English ān

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Englishān—
2Middle Englishāna, an indefinite article
3Old Englishānlonely; entirely alone, solitary, single; one
4Proto-West Germanicainone
5Proto-Germanicainazone; some
6Proto-Indo-Europeanóynosone; single
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂enh₁‑ →Every word from Proto-Indo-Iranian wyaHnás →Every word from Proto-Iranian *wyaHnáH →