Where does “formalwear” come from?

formalwear (English) comes from English formal, from Middle English formel, from Old French formel, from Latin formālis, from French -ïsme, from Latin -isma, from Latin -ismus, from Ancient Greek -ισμός — Creates action/result nouns from verb stems.

formalwear (English): Clothing suited to formal occasions

Definitions

  1. Clothing suited to formal occasions

Ancestry of “formalwear”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishformalBeing in accord with established forms; Official;...
2Middle Englishformel
3Old Frenchformel
4Latinformālisformal
5French-ïsme-ism, variant of -isme following vowels
6Latin-ismaAlternative form of -ismus; -ism
7Latin-ismus-ism
8Ancient Greek-ισμόςForms abstract nouns
9Ancient Greek-μόςForms abstract nouns
10Proto-Indo-European-mósCreates action/result nouns from verb stems
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -mósEvery word from French -ïsmeEvery word from Ancient Greek -μός