Where does “malapropos” come from?
malapropos (English) comes from French mal à propos, from French mal, from Old French mal, from Latin malleus, from Proto-Indo-European melh₂-no-, from Proto-Indo-European melh₂-, from Proto-Indo-European mel-, from Proto-Indo-European mey- — to strengthen; to bind; to change, exchange.
malapropos (English): out of place; inappropriate; out of place;...
Definitions
- out of place; inappropriate; out of place;...
Ancestry of “malapropos”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | French | mal à propos | inappropriately |
| 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 |