Where does “policeman” come from?
policeman (French) comes from English policeman, from English police, from Middle French police, from Latin polītīa, from Ancient Greek πολιτεία, from Ancient Greek πολῑ́της, from Ancient Greek -της, from Proto-Hellenic -tāts — Creates verbal adjectives from verb stems.
policeman (French): policeman (in Anglophone countries)
Definitions
- policeman (in Anglophone countries)
Ancestry of “policeman”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | policeman | A member of a police force, especially one who is... |
| 2 | English | police | A civil force granted the legal authority for law... |
| 3 | Middle French | police | governance; management |
| 4 | Latin | polītīa | state, government, administration |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | πολιτεία | the relation in which a citizen stands to the... |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | πολῑ́της | citizen |
| 7 | Ancient Greek | -της | Forms nouns representing a state of being; Added... |
| 8 | Proto-Hellenic | -tāts | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -teh₂ts | Used to form nouns representing state of being |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | -teh₂ | Used to form nouns representing state of being |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | -tós | Creates verbal adjectives from verb stems |