Start with the plainest reading: Dutch plus man, a man from the Netherlands. Around that sit uses that have drifted away from it — an older, wider Dutch that also covered German speakers, and a spoken formula where being a Dutchman simply stands for something impossible. A separate workshop word, written with a small d, has travelled of all.
From the word’s history
From Middle English Ducheman, that is Dutch plus man. The root behind Dutch (Middle Dutch duutsch, Middle Low German dutsch) is the same one behind German deutsch, which is why older English could use Dutchman for a German.
來自中古英語 Ducheman，也就是 Dutch ＋ man。Dutch 背後的字根（中古荷蘭文 duutsch、中古低地德文 dütsch）跟德文 deutsch 同源——這條共同的根，正好解釋了為什麼舊英文可以用 Dutchman 指德國人。
Wiktionary entry Dutchman, etymology tree supplied in packet (source_ref kaikki:3f6f69a190036ae4:274015382:35013)
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