Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “manpower” come from?

Manpower comes from Middle English man and power, where man derives from Proto-Germanic mann-, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European men- meaning to think or remember.

manpower (English): The total number of all available workers; the...

Definitions

  1. The total number of all available workers; the...

Ancestry of “manpower”, 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- →