Where does “no man's land” come from?
no man's land (English) comes from Middle English Nomanneslond, from Middle English noman, from Middle English man, from Old English mān, from Sanskrit महादेव, from Sanskrit महा, from Sanskrit महायान, from Sanskrit यान — to go; to go in, enter; to ride, to travel.
Ancestry of “no man's land”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | Nomanneslond | — |
| 2 | Middle English | noman | Not any person; no one, nobody |
| 3 | Middle English | man | Typically singular, indefinite pronoun: one, you;... |
| 4 | Old English | mān | bad, criminal, false; shameful act; crime;... |
| 5 | Sanskrit | महादेव | — |
| 6 | Sanskrit | महा | combining form of महत्; buffalo; great, large,... |
| 7 | Sanskrit | महायान | — |
| 8 | Sanskrit | यान | carriage, vehicle, mode of transport; moving,... |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-Aryan | yáHnam | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-Iranian | yáHnam | — |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | yéh₂-nom | — |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | yeh₂- | to go; to go in, enter; to ride, to travel |