Where does “townsman” come from?
Townsman comes from Middle English townes-man, from Old English tūnes-mann, a compound of tūn (enclosure or settlement) and mann (man).
townsman (English): A man who is a resident of a town, especially of...
Definitions
- A man who is a resident of a town, especially of...
Ancestry of “townsman”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | town | A settlement; an area with residential districts,... |
| 2 | English | Freetown | — |
| 3 | English | free | Unconstrained; Obtainable without any payment;... |
| 4 | Middle English | free | — |
| 5 | Old English | frēo | free, joyful |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | *frī | — |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | frijaz | free |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | priHós | dear, beloved; happy, free |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | preyH- | to love, to please |