Where does “he-man” come from?

he-man (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.

he-man (English): A strong or virile man

Definitions

  1. A strong or virile man

Ancestry of “he-man”, step by step

he-man 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 he

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishheA male person or animal already known or implied;...
2Middle EnglishheThird-person singular masculine pronoun: he; it;...
3Old Englishhey
4Proto-West Germanic*hiʀ
5Proto-Germanichīznominative plural masculine of *hiz; these, these...
Every word from Proto-Indo-European man-
he-man — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer