Where does “workingman” come from?
Workingman derives from English working and English man, tracing through Middle English man and mon, Proto-Germanic wurkijaną meaning to work, and Proto-Indo-European men- and ḱóm.
workingman (English): A man who works in exchange for payment,...
Definitions
- A man who works in exchange for payment,...
Ancestry of “workingman”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | working | Operation; action; Method of operation; The... |
| 2 | Middle English | werking | — |
| 3 | Old English | wyrċing | — |
| 4 | Old English | -ing | Forming nouns from verbs, indicating action,... |
| 5 | Old English | -tūn | — |
| 6 | Old English | tūn | enclosure, yard; place; dwelling |
| 7 | Proto-West Germanic | tūn | fence |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | tūną | fence; enclosure |
| 9 | Gaulish | dunum | fort; hill, hillfort |
| 10 | Proto-Celtic | dūnom | stronghold, rampart |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | dʰewh₂- | smoke; mist, haze |