English
henchman
Henchman comes from Middle English henxman ‘page, attendant’.
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500henxman‘page, attendant’
- Englishearliest quotation 1906henchman
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500henxman‘page, attendant’
- Englishearliest quotation 1906henchman
Earliest quotation: 1906, W. G. Joerns, The Railroad Hold-up: “The glib sophistries of the special pleader and the…”
A compound of henġest ‘stallion’ + mann ‘person’
Proto-Indo-European *ḱanḱestos
Proto-Germanic *hangistaz ‘horse, stallion’
Proto-West Germanic *hangist ‘stallion’
Old English henġest ‘stallion’
Proto-Indo-European *mon- ‘man, human being’
Proto-Germanic *mann- ‘human, human being, person, individual’
Proto-West Germanic *mann ‘person, human, individual’
Old English mann ‘person’
The story
Inherited from Middle English henxman (‘page, attendant’), from Old English *henġestmann, *hengstmann (“groom”, literally “horseman”), from henġest (‘stallion, horse, steed, gelding’) + mann (‘man’).
Every English word from Middle English henxman
Today it means
noun A loyal and trusted follower or subordinate.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Middle English henxman / henchman