Where does “mad” come from?
Mad derives from Middle English madd with the suffix -e, from Middle French -ie, from Latin -ium, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European roots mey-, mag-, and en.
mad (English): Insane; crazy, mentally deranged; Angry, annoyed;...
Definitions
- Insane; crazy, mentally deranged; Angry, annoyed;...
Ancestry of “mad”, step by step
mad traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.
via Middle English madde
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | madde | inflection of mad: ## weak singular ##... |
| 2 | Middle English | -e | Alternative form of -y; Alternative form of -yf;... |
| 3 | Old English | -e | forming adverbs from adjectives; -ly |
| 4 | Old English | -en | mæġþ + API → mæġden; cocc + API → cycen, cicen;... |
| 5 | Old Norse | -inn | Used to create adjectives from nouns, meaning... |
| 6 | Proto-Norse | -īna- | — |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | -īnaz | -en |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -iHnos | Creates adjectives of materials |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -no- | adjectival suffix |