Where does “roadmaster” come from?

roadmaster (English) comes from English Master, from English Mast, from French masse, from Old French mace, from Vulgar Latin mattia, from Latin mateola, from Latin -ulus, from Proto-Italic -olos — Forms agent nouns from verbal roots.

roadmaster (English): One who is in charge of a railroad track

Definitions

  1. One who is in charge of a railroad track

Ancestry of “roadmaster”, step by step

roadmaster traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English Master

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishMasterPrepended to a boy's name or surname as a form...
2EnglishMast
3Frenchmassea paste, a dough; large amount or quantity of...
4Old Frenchmacemace weapon
5Vulgar Latinmattia
6LatinmateolaThe meaning of this term is uncertain....
7Latin-ulusUsed to form a diminutive of a noun, indicating...
8Proto-Italic-olos
9Proto-Italic-elosForms desubstantival and deadjectival diminutive nouns
10Proto-Indo-European-e-lós
11Proto-Indo-European-lósForms agent nouns from verbal roots

via English road

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishroadA way used for travelling between places,...
2Middle EnglishrodeA cross or gibbet; The cross of Christ; The cross...
3Old Englishrādroad; riding, hostile incursion; riding, road
4Proto-West Germanicraiduriding, ride
5Proto-Germanicraidōride, journey; name of the R-rune
6Proto-Germanicrīdanąto ride
7Proto-Indo-Europeanrēydʰ-
8Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂er-to fit, to fix, to put together
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -lós