Where does “West Indiaman” come from?

West Indiaman (English) comes from English West Indies, from English Indies, from Latin India, from Ancient Greek Ἰνδία, from Ancient Greek Ἰνδός, from Old Persian 𐏃𐎡𐎯𐎢𐏁, from Sanskrit सिन्धु, from Proto-Indo-Aryan síndʰuṣ.

West Indiaman (English): A merchant vessel trading between Europe and the West Indies (including the Americas), generally smaller than the similar East Indiamen

Definitions

  1. A merchant vessel trading between Europe and the West Indies (including the Americas), generally smaller than the similar East Indiamen

Ancestry of “West Indiaman”, step by step

West Indiaman traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English West Indies

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishWest IndiesA Federation of Caribbean states which, together with Guyana, play Test matches as if they were a single nation
2EnglishIndiesThe East Indies, including India, Southeast Asia, Indonesia and adjacent lands
3LatinIndia
4Ancient GreekἸνδία
5Ancient GreekἸνδόςan inhabitant of India or the Indian...
6Old Persian𐏃𐎡𐎯𐎢𐏁India; people living beyond the Indus
7Sanskritसिन्धुa river, stream; flood, waters; ocean, sea
8Proto-Indo-Aryansíndʰuṣriver, ocean; flow
9Proto-Indo-Iraniansíndʰušriver, stream
10Sanskritसिन्धु॑

via English MAN

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishMANInitialism of Metropolitan Area Network
2EnglishmanualA handbook; A booklet that instructs on the usage...
3Middle Englishmanuel
4Anglo-Normanmanuelmanual; done with the hands; handle; manual;...
5Old Frenchmanual
6Latinmanuālishand
7Latinmanushand; bravery, valor; violence, fighting
8Proto-Italicmanushand
9Proto-Indo-Europeanman-human being; man; hand
Every word from Sanskrit सिन्धु॑