The story
From townsfolk + -s. Etymology tree English town English -s- English folk English townsfolk Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *-ms Proto-Indo-European *-omsder. Proto-Germanic *-anzder.? Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂m̥s Proto-Germanic *-ōz Proto-Germanic *-ōsder.? Old English -as Middle English -es English -s English townsfolks
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.