Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “marksmanship” come from?

Marksmanship derives from marksman, itself from English man, traced through Middle English -s and mon to Proto-Germanic skapjaną and Proto-Indo-European men- meaning to think or remember.

marksmanship (English): The ability to shoot accurately at a target

Definitions

  1. The ability to shoot accurately at a target

Ancestry of “marksmanship”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1English-shipAppended to a noun to form a new noun denoting a...
2Middle English-schipeAffixed to nouns and adjectives to form nouns...
3Old English-sċiepe—
4Proto-West Germanic-skapiForms nouns denoting state, originally meaning...
5Proto-Germanic-skapizForms nouns denoting state, originally meaning...
6Proto-Germanicskapjanąto make, to create; to shape
7Proto-Indo-Europeanskab-to cut, split, hew, shape; to cut, split, carve,...
Every word from Proto-Indo-European skab- →