Where does “freemen” come from?
Freemen derives from English free and man, with man tracing through Middle English mon and man to Proto-Germanic mann-, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European prēy- and ḱóm.
freemen (English): plural of freeman
Ancestry of “freemen”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | freeman | A free person, "particularly" |
| 2 | Old English | freomann | — |
| 3 | Old English | frēo | free, joyful |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | *frī | — |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | frijaz | free |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | priHós | dear, beloved; happy, free |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | preyH- | to love, to please |