Etymology

meanship

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Today it means: Instrumentality. Full definition →

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The story

From means + -ship. Plural forms assuming a singular form when used as the adjunct of a composed term is common; cf. ten-foot pole (not *ten-feet pole), pantleg (not *pantsleg), and stairwell (not *stairswell).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.