Etymo

ombudsman

An official who investigates complaints.

Played on · Day 17 · word 5 of 5

Ombudsman came from Swedish.

How ombudsman reached English

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Simplified path. The puzzle showed the main steps; the full route is being checked.

  1. Swedish

    ombudsman

    ‘A representative’

  2. English

    ombudsman

    ‘The complaints official’

The story of ombudsman

Ombudsman entered English from Swedish, where its literal background concerns a representative. The older Norse components involve a commission and a person. A public role carried its established name into another language.

Source

Merriam-Webster · ombudsman

The word’s etymology and recorded senses.

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