Etymology

men

M3E1N1

Today it means: (The) people, humanity, man(kind). Full definition →

Middle English men ← Old English menn ← Proto-Germanic *manniz
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The story

  1. Proto-Germanic · derived from*mann-“person”
  2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*manniz
  3. Old English · inherited frommenn“people”
  4. Middle English · inherited frommen
  5. English todaymen

From Middle English men, from Old English menn (“people”), from Proto-Germanic *manniz, nominative plural of Proto-Germanic *mann- (“person”). Cognate with German Männer (“men”), Danish mænd (“men”), Swedish män (“men”). More at man.

Words from the same roots

Proto-Germanic*mann- all →

manmennish

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.