English

keyman

From key + man.

A compound of key + man

Proto-West Germanic *kaiju

Old English cǣġ ‘key’

Middle English keye ‘a key’

English key

Proto-Germanic *mann- ‘human being, person, man’

Proto-West Germanic *mann ‘person’

Old English mann ‘human being, person, man’

Middle English man

English man

Today it means

noun A telegraph operator.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.