Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “Ma” come from?

Ma comes from Chinese mǎ, a word of unknown origin and meaning.

Ancestry of “Ma”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishMymegayear; Alternative letter-case form of my...
2Middle EnglishmiFirst-person singular genitive determiner: my
3Middle EnglishminFirst-person singular genitive determiner: my;...
4Old Englishmīnmy, mine
5Proto-Germanic*mīn—
6Proto-Germanicmīnazmy, mine; 1st person singular possessive
7Proto-Indo-Europeanméynosmy; mine
8Proto-Indo-Europeanmeito fix, to build fortifications or fences
Every word from Proto-Indo-European mei →