Where does “policework” come from?

policework (English) comes from English police, from Middle French police, from Latin polītīa, from Ancient Greek πολιτεία, from Ancient Greek πολῑ́της, from Ancient Greek -της, from Proto-Hellenic -tāts, from Proto-Indo-European -teh₂ts — Creates verbal adjectives from verb stems.

policework (English): The work done by police

Definitions

  1. The work done by police

Ancestry of “policework”, step by step

policework traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English police

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishpoliceA civil force granted the legal authority for law...
2Middle Frenchpolicegovernance; management
3Latinpolītīastate, government, administration
4Ancient Greekπολιτείαthe relation in which a citizen stands to the...
5Ancient Greekπολῑ́τηςcitizen
6Ancient Greek-τηςForms nouns representing a state of being; Added...
7Proto-Hellenic-tāts
8Proto-Indo-European-teh₂tsUsed to form nouns representing state of being
9Proto-Indo-European-teh₂Used to form nouns representing state of being
10Proto-Indo-European-tósCreates verbal adjectives from verb stems

via English work

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Englishwork"Employment."; "Effort."; Sustained effort to...
2Middle Englishwerkwork
3Old Englishweorcwork, in various senses, including
4Proto-West Germanicwerkwork
5Proto-Germanicwerkąwork
6Proto-Indo-Europeanwérǵomwork
7Proto-Indo-Europeanwerǵ-to make
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -tósEvery word from Ancient Greek -τηςEvery word from Ancient Greek πολῑ́της
policework — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer