Where does “underclassman” come from?

underclassman (English) comes from English classman, from English class, from French classe, from Italian classe, from Spanish clase, from Portuguese classe, from German klasse, from Russian класс — to call, cry, summon.

underclassman (English): The opposite of an upperclassman; a freshman or...

Definitions

  1. The opposite of an upperclassman; a freshman or...

Ancestry of “underclassman”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishclassmanA member of a class; a classmate; A candidate for...
2EnglishclassA group, collection, category or set sharing...
3Frenchclasseclass, type, group; "Une classe de conscrits"...
4Italianclasseclass; classroom; style
5Spanishclaselecture; class; kind, sort, type
6Portugueseclasseclass, kind; class; elegance; class
7Germanklassegreat, awesome
8Russianклассclass
9Latinclassisany one of the five divisions into which Servius...
10Proto-Italicklāssis
11Proto-Indo-Europeankelh₁-to call, cry, summon
Every word from Proto-Indo-European kelh₁-