Where does “handiwoman” come from?
handiwoman (English) comes from English Handy, from English handgun, from English gun, from Middle English gunne, from Old Norse Gunnhildr, from Old Norse Gunnr, from Old Norse guðr, from Proto-Germanic gunþiz.
Ancestry of “handiwoman”, step by step
handiwoman traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English Handy
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Handy | Easy to use, useful |
| 2 | English | handgun | A small gun with a relatively short barrel,... |
| 3 | English | gun | A device for projecting a hard object very... |
| 4 | Middle English | gunne | A trebuchet or similar kind of pellet-firing... |
| 5 | Old Norse | Gunnhildr | — |
| 6 | Old Norse | Gunnr | battle, war |
| 7 | Old Norse | guðr | battle, war |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | gunþiz | battle |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷʰéntis | striking, killing |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷʰen- | to strike, slay, kill |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰon- | — |
via English woman
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | woman | An adult female human; All female humans... |
| 2 | Middle English | womman | An female adult person; a woman; The female sex... |
| 3 | Old English | wīfmann | woman; female servant; woman |
| 4 | Old English | mann | person; man meaning mankind; man meaning adult... |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | mann | person, human |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | *mann- | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | men- | to think, mind; spiritual activity; to stay,... |