Where does “salesperson” come from?
salesperson (English) comes from English Person, from Middle English persoun, from Old French persone, from Medieval Latin persona, from Latin persōna, from Etruscan 𐌘𐌄𐌓𐌔𐌖, from Ancient Greek πρόσωπον, from Ancient Greek ὤψ — to see; eye.
salesperson (English): A person whose job is to sell things, either in a...
Definitions
- A person whose job is to sell things, either in a...
Ancestry of “salesperson”, step by step
salesperson traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English Person
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Person | An individual who has been granted personhood; usually a human being |
| 2 | Middle English | persoun | person |
| 3 | Old French | persone | person; individual; rector of a parish; someone;... |
| 4 | Medieval Latin | persona | parson, person; mask; character |
| 5 | Latin | persōna | mask |
| 6 | Etruscan | 𐌘𐌄𐌓𐌔𐌖 | a mask; a masked individual, often performing in... |
| 7 | Ancient Greek | πρόσωπον | face, visage, countenance; front; mask |
| 8 | Ancient Greek | ὤψ | to the eye; in the face; eye |
| 9 | Proto-Hellenic | ókʷs | eye |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | h₃ókʷs | eye |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | h₃ekʷ- | to see; eye |
via English Sales
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Sales | The activities involved in selling goods or services |
| 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 |