Where does “businesswoman” come from?
Businesswoman is a Modern English compound of business and woman, which descends from Middle English woman, from Old English wiman, originally meaning female person.
businesswoman (English): A woman involved in business
Definitions
- A woman involved in business
Ancestry of “businesswoman”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | business | A specific commercial enterprise or... |
| 2 | Middle English | busines | — |
| 3 | Old English | bisiġnes | business, busyness |
| 4 | Old English | -nes | Used to form abstract nouns, usually from... |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | -nassī | Used to form abstract nouns, usually from... |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | -inassuz | -ness |
| 7 | Proto-West Germanic | -ī | -ness, -th |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | -į̄ | -th |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -íh₂ | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | -h₂ | Creates collective nouns, which refer to groups... |