Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “showbusiness” come from?

showbusiness (English) comes from English business, from Middle English busines, from Old English bisiġnes, from Old English -nes, from Proto-West Germanic -nassī, from Proto-Germanic -inassuz, from Proto-West Germanic -ī, from Proto-Germanic -į̄ — Creates collective nouns, which refer to groups...

showbusiness (English): The entertainment industry

Definitions

  1. The entertainment industry

Ancestry of “showbusiness”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishbusinessA specific commercial enterprise or...
2Middle Englishbusines—
3Old Englishbisiġnesbusiness, busyness
4Old English-nesUsed to form abstract nouns, usually from...
5Proto-West Germanic-nassīUsed to form abstract nouns, usually from...
6Proto-Germanic-inassuz-ness
7Proto-West Germanic-ī-ness, -th
8Proto-Germanic-į̄-th
9Proto-Indo-European-íh₂—
10Proto-Indo-European-h₂Creates collective nouns, which refer to groups...

Words derived from “showbusiness”

  • show business
  • showbusiness
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -h₂ →