Where does “layman” come from?
Layman comes from Middle English man and Latin laicus, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European roots relating to thought and speech.
layman (English): Layperson, someone who is not an ordained cleric...
Definitions
- Layperson, someone who is not an ordained cleric...
Ancestry of “layman”, step by step
layman traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English lay
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | lay | To place down in a position of rest, or in a... |
| 2 | English | Lee | for someone who lived near a meadow (the Anglo-Saxon for meadow being ley or leag) |
| 3 | Irish | Laoi | lay, song |
| 4 | Middle Irish | láed | — |
| 5 | English | loid | A lock-picking tool made from a piece of... |
| 6 | English | celluloid | Any of a variety of thermoplastics created from... |
| 7 | English | -oid | Of similar form to, but not the same as. Having... |
| 8 | Latin | -oides | -like, -form |
| 9 | Greek | -ο | ending for accusative singular forms (eg δρόμος, ψήφος); and some vocative singular forms |
| 10 | Ancient Greek | εἶδος | That which is seen: form, image, shape;... |
| 11 | Spanish | -scopio | -scope |
| 12 | Latin | -scopium | — |
| 13 | Ancient Greek | σκοπέω | I look, look at, behold; I examine, inspect; 413... |
| 14 | Ancient Greek | σκοπός | watcher, lookout; protector, guardian; spy, scout |
via English man
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | man | An adult male human; All human males... |
| 2 | Middle English | man | Typically singular, indefinite pronoun: one, you;... |
| 3 | Old English | mān | bad, criminal, false; shameful act; crime;... |
| 4 | Sanskrit | महादेव | the "great God" |
| 5 | Sanskrit | महा | combining form of महत्; buffalo; great, large,... |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-Aryan | maźʰā́ | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-Iranian | maȷ́ʰā́ | big, great |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | méǵh₂s | big, great |