Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “spokesman” come from?

Spokesman comes from English speak, deriving from Old English sprecan, which traces back through Proto-Germanic sprekaną to the Proto-Indo-European root spreg- meaning to speak or articulate.

spokesman (English): One who speaks as the voice of a group of people

Definitions

  1. One who speaks as the voice of a group of people

Ancestry of “spokesman”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishMANInitialism of Metropolitan Area Network
2Middle EnglishmanTypically singular, indefinite pronoun: one, you;...
3Old Englishmānbad, criminal, false; shameful act; crime;...
4Sanskritमहादेव—
5Sanskritमहाcombining form of महत्; buffalo; great, large,...
6Sanskritमहायान—
7Sanskritयानcarriage, vehicle, mode of transport; moving,...
8Proto-Indo-AryanyáHnam—
9Proto-Indo-IranianyáHnam—
10Proto-Indo-Europeanyéh₂-nom—
11Proto-Indo-Europeanyeh₂-to go; to go in, enter; to ride, to travel

Words derived from “spokesman”

  • spokesmanship
  • スポークスマン
Every word from Proto-Indo-European yeh₂- →