"main" + "man-" + "man"
these two stems bring about much misunderstandings about their kinship, but let's have a look at their "wild lives":
"main" (in English)
the (most) "able"
- Old English mæġen ("strong", "main", "principal")
- Proto-Germanic *maganą ("to be able")
- PIE *megh- ("to be able")
- cognate with Proto-Slavic *mogti / *mot'i ("to be able")
- hence Russian мочь moch' ("to be able")
- Proto-Germanic *maganą ("to be able")
"main" (in French)
the "hand"
- Latin manus ("hand")
- Proto-Italic *manus ("hand")
- [perhaps] PIE *(s)meh₂- ("to beckon")
- cognate with Proto-Germanic *mundo ("hand")
- Proto-Italic *manus ("hand")
note that Spanish mundo ("world") has its own thing:
- Latin mundus ("pure")
- [perhaps] Etruscan muth ("pit")
- [perhaps] PIE *mh2nd- ("to adorn") or *m(y)ewh1 ("to wash")
"man-"
a root that comes from the manus word above, e.g.:
- manipulation
- manual
- manuscript
so words like those have nothing to do with "man" as in "man and wife" (!)
"man"
once had to do with any "human":
- Old English mann ("human being", "person", "man")
- Proto-West Germanic *mann ("human being", "person", "man")
- Proto-Germanic *mann- ("human being", "person", "man")
- PIE *mon- ("man", "human being")
- see Proto-Slavic mǫžь ("man", "husband")
- then Russian муж muzh ("man", "husband")
- PIE *mon- ("man", "human being")
- Proto-Germanic *mann- ("human being", "person", "man")
- Proto-West Germanic *mann ("human being", "person", "man")
"man" (in Icelandic)
the word for "man" as in the sense above is maður, but man in Icelandic also can mean "dare" or "remember":
- man as a "neuter" noun in Icelandic:
- Icelandic mana ("to dare")
- Proto-Germanic manōną ("to urge")
- PIE *men- ("to think")
- see mental + mind
- PIE *men- ("to think")
- Proto-Germanic manōną ("to urge")
- Icelandic mana ("to dare")
- man as the "first- and third-person singular present indicative" of muna
- Icelandic muna ("to remember")
- Proto-Germanic munaną ("to remember")
- akin to our memory
- PIE *men- ("to think")
- Proto-Germanic munaną ("to remember")
- Icelandic muna ("to remember")
so the two senses likely came from the same PIE root as they both have to do with "thinking"
now all these "m-vowel-n" words seem to come from standalone beginnings, but even they seem to have something in common; let's look here:
- "to be able"
- "man"
- "think"
perhaps the (human) man was a "living being who could think" (they could "m*n") and that set off all those words we see today!