Where does “Miss” come from?

Miss (English) comes from English Mistress, from Middle English maistresse, from Old French maistresse, from Old French maistre, from Latin magister, from Proto-Italic magisteros, from Proto-Indo-European méǵh₂isteros, from Proto-Indo-European méǵh₂s — big, great.

Miss (English): Form of address, now used chiefly for an...

Definitions

  1. Form of address, now used chiefly for an...

Ancestry of “Miss”, step by step

Miss traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English Mistress

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishMistressUsed as the title of a married woman before her...
2Middle Englishmaistressemistress
3Old Frenchmaistresse—
4Old Frenchmaistremaster; Master; magister
5Latinmagisterteacher; master; a title of the Middle Ages,...
6Proto-Italicmagisterosbigger, greater
7Proto-Indo-Europeanméǵh₂isteros—
8Proto-Indo-Europeanméǵh₂sbig, great

via Middle English missen

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishmissen—
2Old Englishmissanto miss; to not notice something
3Proto-Germanicmissijanąto miss, go wrong, fail
4Proto-Indo-Europeanmēyt-—
5Proto-Indo-Europeanmēy-soft, tender, dear

Words derived from “Miss”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European méǵh₂s →Every word from Proto-Indo-European méǵh₂isteros →Every word from Proto-Italic magisteros →