Where does “Melody” come from?
Melody comes from Middle English melodie, Old French melodie, Latin melodia, Ancient Greek μελῳδία, combining μέλος (song or limb) and ἀείδω (to sing), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European mey-.
Ancestry of “Melody”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | melodie | — |
| 2 | Old French | melodie | — |
| 3 | Latin | melōdia | — |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | μελῳδία | song, singing; chant; music, melody |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | μελῳδός | musical |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | μέλος | part of a body, limb, member, part; part of a... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | mel- | soft; tender; weak; to deceive; to rub |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | mey- | to strengthen; to bind; to change, exchange |