Where does “Pall Mall” come from?
Pall Mall (English) comes from English pall mall, from Old French pale-maille, from Italian pallamaglio, from Italian palla, from Latin palla, from Frankish ball, from Northern Sami bállu, from Northern Sami ballát — to fear.
Ancestry of “Pall Mall”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | pall mall | A 17th-century game in which a ball was driven... |
| 2 | Old French | pale-maille | — |
| 3 | Italian | pallamaglio | pall mall |
| 4 | Italian | palla | ball; bullet, shot; testicles |
| 5 | Latin | palla | A rectangular piece of cloth worn by ladies in... |
| 6 | Frankish | ball | — |
| 7 | Northern Sami | bállu | testicle, ball |
| 8 | Northern Sami | ballát | to become scared |
| 9 | Proto-Samic | pëlājëtēk | to become scared |
| 10 | Proto-Samic | pëlëtēk | to fear |
| 11 | Proto-Uralic | pele- | to fear |