Where does “salesman” come from?
Salesman comes from English sales and English man, ultimately from Proto-Germanic mann- meaning "human being," traced through Middle English man and mon to Proto-Indo-European men-.
salesman (English): A man whose job it is to sell things, either in a...
Definitions
- A man whose job it is to sell things, either in a...
Ancestry of “salesman”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | Sales | — |
| 2 | Spanish | Sales | — |
| 3 | Catalan | Sales | — |
| 4 | Catalan | sala | a large room; hall; living room |
| 5 | Frankish | sali | dwelling, house, entrance hall; house, dwelling;... |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | saliz | house; dwelling; hall; room |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | sol- | whole |
Words derived from “salesman”