Crossword Dictionary
EVERYMAN
everyman, everymen - n
the typical or ordinary man
Synonyms
anybody, everybody, people, each one, each person, every one, every person, generality, masses, populace, the public, the whole, voters
Examples
If Viktor represents the Everyman, Dixon is a representation of the Government and the power it has over all of us.
One of Britain's favorite everyman actors, Firth has appeared in dozens of roles throughout his career including an Academy Award winning turn as King George VI in The King's Speech.
That he turned out to be one of the Final Five was just a poignant twist for this "everyman" character.
Etymology
name of the leading character in a popular 15c. morality play; from every + man (n.).
every (adj.)
"each, considered indefinitely as a unitary part of an aggregate; all, of a collective or aggregate number, taken one by one;" early 13c., contraction of Old English æfre ælc "each of a group," literally "ever each" (Chaucer's everich), from each with ever added before it for emphasis. The word still is felt to want emphasis; as in Modern English every last ..., every single ..., etc.
man (n.)
"a featherless plantigrade biped mammal of the genus Homo" [Century Dictionary], Old English man, mann "human being, person (male or female); brave man, hero;" also "servant, vassal, adult male considered as under the control of another person," from Proto-Germanic *mann- (source also of Old Saxon, Swedish, Dutch, Old High German man, Old Frisian mon, German Mann, Old Norse maðr, Danish mand, Gothic manna "man"), from PIE root *man- (1) "man." For the plural, see men.