Where does “malappointment” come from?
malappointment (English) comes from English appointment, from English appoint, from Middle English apointen, from Old French apointier, from Old French pointier, from Old French point, from Latin pūnctum, from Latin punctus — Derives action nouns from verb roots.
Ancestry of “malappointment”, step by step
malappointment traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English appointment
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | appointment | The act of appointing a person to hold an office... |
| 2 | English | appoint | To set, fix or determine by authority or... |
| 3 | Middle English | apointen | — |
| 4 | Old French | apointier | to prepare; to equip; to treat |
| 5 | Old French | pointier | — |
| 6 | Old French | point | a sting; a prick; moment; time; dot |
| 7 | Latin | pūnctum | point |
| 8 | Latin | punctus | pricked, punctured, pierced, having been pricked;... |
| 9 | Latin | -tus | Forms the past participle of verbs; Forms... |
| 10 | Proto-Italic | -tus | — |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | -tus | Derives action nouns from verb roots |
via English mal
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | mal | illness, affliction; A longboard; Malleolus |
| 2 | French | mal | trouble, difficulty; pain; evil |
| 3 | Old French | mal | evilly; badly; poorly; evil |
| 4 | Latin | malleus | hammer, mallet; a disease of animals; the... |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | melh₂-no- | — |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | melh₂- | to grind, to crush |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | mel- | soft; tender; weak; to deceive; to rub |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | mey- | to strengthen; to bind; to change, exchange |