Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “workingwoman” come from?

workingwoman (English) comes from English working, from Middle English werking, from Old English wyrċing, from Old English -ing, from Old English -tūn, from Old English tūn, from Proto-West Germanic tūn, from Proto-Germanic tūną — smoke; mist, haze.

workingwoman (English): A woman who works in exchange for payment,...

Definitions

  1. A woman who works in exchange for payment,...

Ancestry of “workingwoman”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishworkingOperation; action; Method of operation; The...
2Middle Englishwerking—
3Old Englishwyrċing—
4Old English-ingForming nouns from verbs, indicating action,...
5Old English-tūn—
6Old Englishtūnenclosure, yard; place; dwelling
7Proto-West Germanictūnfence
8Proto-Germanictūnąfence; enclosure
9Gaulishdunumfort; hill, hillfort
10Proto-Celticdūnomstronghold, rampart
11Proto-Indo-Europeandʰewh₂-smoke; mist, haze
Every word from Proto-Indo-European dʰewh₂- →