Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “businessperson” come from?

Businessperson is derived from Middle English busines, Old English bisiġnes, and Latin persona, ultimately from Latin sonus meaning sound.

businessperson (English): A person in business, or one who works at a...

Definitions

  1. A person in business, or one who works at a...

Ancestry of “businessperson”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishPerson—
2Middle Englishpersounperson
3Old Frenchpersoneperson; individual; rector of a parish; someone;...
4Medieval Latinpersonaparson, person; mask; character
5Latinpersōna—
6Etruscan𐌘𐌄𐌓𐌔𐌖a mask; a masked individual, often performing in...
7Ancient Greekπρόσωπονface, visage, countenance; front; mask
8Ancient Greekὤψto the eye; in the face; eye
9Proto-Hellenicókʷs—
10Proto-Indo-Europeanh₃ókʷseye
11Proto-Indo-Europeanh₃ekʷ-to see; eye
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₃ekʷ- →