Where does “ma-in-law” come from?
ma-in-law (English) comes from English Ma, from English My, from Middle English mi, from Middle English min, from Old English mīn, from Proto-Germanic *mīn, from Proto-Germanic mīnaz, from Proto-Indo-European méynos — to fix, to build fortifications or fences.
ma-in-law (English): mother-in-law
Definitions
- mother-in-law
Ancestry of “ma-in-law”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Ma | Mother, mom, mama |
| 2 | English | My | megayear; Alternative letter-case form of my... |
| 3 | Middle English | mi | First-person singular genitive determiner: my |
| 4 | Middle English | min | First-person singular genitive determiner: my;... |
| 5 | Old English | mīn | my, mine |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | *mīn | — |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | mīnaz | my, mine; 1st person singular possessive |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | méynos | my; mine |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | mei | to fix, to build fortifications or fences |