Where does “mal” come from?
mal (Dutch) comes from Old French mole, from Latin modulus, from Latin -ulus, from Proto-Italic -olos, from Proto-Italic -elos, from Proto-Indo-European -e-lós, from Proto-Indo-European -lós — Forms agent nouns from verbal roots.
mal (Dutch): mold, cast; foolish, crazy, lacking common sense
Definitions
- mold, cast; foolish, crazy, lacking common sense
Ancestry of “mal”, step by step
mal traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Old French mole
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old French | mole | — |
| 2 | Latin | modulus | a small measure or interval; a module; a water... |
| 3 | Latin | -ulus | Used to form a diminutive of a noun, indicating... |
| 4 | Proto-Italic | -olos | — |
| 5 | Proto-Italic | -elos | Forms desubstantival and deadjectival diminutive nouns |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | -e-lós | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -lós | Forms agent nouns from verbal roots |
via Middle Dutch mal
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle Dutch | mal | — |