Where does “crewmember” come from?
Crewmember combines crew, from Old French creue meaning an increase or addition of people, ultimately from Latin cresco meaning to grow, with member, from Old French membre and Latin membrum meaning a limb or part of a body.
crewmember (English): A member of a crew
Definitions
- A member of a crew
Ancestry of “crewmember”, step by step
crewmember traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English crew
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | crew | A group of people together; A person in a crew;... |
| 2 | Middle English | crue | — |
| 3 | Old French | creue | increase; augmentation; recruit; feminine... |
| 4 | Old French | croistre | to increase; to augment |
| 5 | Latin | crēscō | to rise, grow, grow up; prosper, thrive; increase, multiply, augment |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | krēskō | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱer- | to grow, to make grow, to nourish; to plait,... |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | kr̥- | to turn, to bend |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | ker- | army |
via English member
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | member | One who officially belongs to a group; A part of... |
| 2 | Middle English | membre | — |
| 3 | Old French | membre | limb |
| 4 | Latin | membrum | limb of the body; member; the penis; a portion,... |
| 5 | Proto-Italic | memzrom | — |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | mḗms | flesh, meat |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | mems- | flesh, meat |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | me-ms- | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | mes- | — |