Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “antismallpox” come from?

antismallpox (English) comes from English smallpox, from English Small, from Middle English smal, from Old English smæl, from Proto-West Germanic smal, from Proto-Germanic smalaz, from Proto-Indo-European (s)mal- — small; little.

antismallpox (English): Preventing or countering smallpox

Definitions

  1. Preventing or countering smallpox

Ancestry of “antismallpox”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishsmallpoxAn acute, highly infectious often fatal disease...
2EnglishSmall—
3Middle EnglishsmalSmall, miniscule; Little, few, scarce; Ground...
4Old Englishsmælnarrow, slim; not broad; slender; not thick;...
5Proto-West Germanicsmalsmall
6Proto-Germanicsmalazsmall
7Proto-Indo-European(s)mal-small; little
Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)mal- →