Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “headmasterly” come from?

headmasterly (English) comes from English headmaster, from English Master, from English Mast, from French masse, from Old French mace, from Vulgar Latin mattia, from Latin mateola, from Latin -ulus — Forms agent nouns from verbal roots.

headmasterly (English): In a manner befitting a headmaster

Definitions

  1. In a manner befitting a headmaster

Ancestry of “headmasterly”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishheadmasterA male school principal
2EnglishMasterPrepended to a boy's name or surname as a form...
3EnglishMast—
4Frenchmassea paste, a dough; large amount or quantity of...
5Old Frenchmacemace
6Vulgar Latinmattia—
7LatinmateolaThe meaning of this term is uncertain....
8Latin-ulusUsed to form a diminutive of a noun, indicating...
9Proto-Italic-olos—
10Proto-Italic-elos—
11Proto-Indo-European-e-lós—
12Proto-Indo-European-lósForms agent nouns from verbal roots
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -lós →