Where does “donkeyman” come from?

donkeyman (English) comes from English MAN, from English manual, from Middle English manuel, from Anglo-Norman manuel, from Old French manual, from Latin manuālis, from Latin manus, from Proto-Italic manus — human being; man; hand.

donkeyman (English): The person in charge of a ship's engine room

Definitions

  1. The person in charge of a ship's engine room

Ancestry of “donkeyman”, step by step

donkeyman traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

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

via English donkey

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Englishdonkeya domestic animal, Equus asinus asinus, similar...
2Middle Englishdonekiea miniature dun horse
3Middle EnglishdonTo do, perform; To complete, finish; To make,...
4Old Englishdōnto do
5Proto-West Germanicdōnto do; to put, to place
6Proto-Germanicdōnąto do, make; to put, place
7Proto-Indo-Europeandʰéh₁tto put, to place; to do
8Proto-Indo-Europeandʰeh₁-to do, put, place
Every word from Proto-Indo-European man-