Meaning

noun how a result is obtained or an end is achieved

noun an instrumentality for accomplishing some end

noun considerable capital (wealth or income)

originVarious origins: * Reduced form of McMeans, a surname of Irish origin. * Habitational surname from the villages of East and West Meon, in Hampshire. * A nickname from Middle English mene (“inferior in rank”), which is from Old English ġemǣne (“common, general”), or Middle English mene (“moderate in behaviour”), which is from Old French mëen, mean.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0