Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “highwayman” come from?

Highwayman comes from English highway and man, where man derives from Middle English man and mon, from Proto-Germanic mann-, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European men- meaning "human being."

highwayman (English): A person usually mounted on horseback who robbed...

Definitions

  1. A person usually mounted on horseback who robbed...

Ancestry of “highwayman”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishMANInitialism of Metropolitan Area Network
2Middle EnglishmanTypically singular, indefinite pronoun: one, you;...
3Old Englishmānbad, criminal, false; shameful act; crime;...
4Sanskritमहादेव—
5Sanskritमहाcombining form of महत्; buffalo; great, large,...
6Sanskritमहायान—
7Sanskritयानcarriage, vehicle, mode of transport; moving,...
8Proto-Indo-AryanyáHnam—
9Proto-Indo-IranianyáHnam—
10Proto-Indo-Europeanyéh₂-nom—
11Proto-Indo-Europeanyeh₂-to go; to go in, enter; to ride, to travel
Every word from Proto-Indo-European yeh₂- →