Where does “Malebranche” come from?

Malebranche (English) comes from Italian malo, from Latin malus, from Ancient Greek μηλέα, from Ancient Greek μῆλον, from Proto-Indo-European (s)meh₁l- — small animal”; small animal.

Malebranche (English): Nicolas Malebranche (1638–1715), a French philosopher

Definitions

  1. Nicolas Malebranche (1638–1715), a French philosopher

Ancestry of “Malebranche”, step by step

Malebranche traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Italian malo

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Italianmalobad, evil, wicked; unfit, incompetent, inadequate
2Latinmalusunpleasant, distressing, painful, nasty, bad;...
3Ancient Greekμηλέαapple tree
4Ancient Greekμῆλονapple; any fruit from a tree; a woman's breast
5Proto-Indo-European(s)meh₁l-small animal”; small animal

via Italian branca

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Italianbrancaclaw; talon; branch
2Late Latinbrancafootprint, paw; footprint”, later also “paw, claw
3Gaulishvranca
4Proto-Indo-Europeanwrónkeh₂

Words derived from “Malebranche

Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)meh₁l-