Where does “layperson” come from?
Layperson comes from Middle English lay, from Latin laicus, from Latin persona meaning mask or character, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ḱley- meaning to hear or be heard.
layperson (English): A person who is not a cleric; One who is not...
Definitions
- A person who is not a cleric; One who is not...
Ancestry of “layperson”, step by step
layperson 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 Person
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Person | An individual who has been granted personhood; usually a human being |
| 2 | Middle English | persoun | person |
| 3 | Old French | persone | person; individual; rector of a parish; someone;... |
| 4 | Medieval Latin | persona | parson, person; mask; character |
| 5 | Latin | persōna | mask |
| 6 | Etruscan | 𐌘𐌄𐌓𐌔𐌖 | a mask; a masked individual, often performing in... |
| 7 | Ancient Greek | πρόσωπον | face, visage, countenance; front; mask |
| 8 | Ancient Greek | ὤψ | to the eye; in the face; eye |
| 9 | Proto-Hellenic | ókʷs | eye |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | h₃ókʷs | eye |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | h₃ekʷ- | to see; eye |