Where does “main” come from?

main (French) comes from Middle French main, from Old French main, from Latin manus, from Proto-Italic manus, from Proto-Indo-European man- — human being; man; hand.

main (French): hand; handball

Definitions

  1. hand; handball

Ancestry of “main”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Frenchmainhand
2Old Frenchmainhand
3Latinmanushand; bravery, valor; violence, fighting
4Proto-Italicmanushand
5Proto-Indo-Europeanman-human being; man; hand

Words derived from “main”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European man- →