Where does “mastermind” come from?
Mastermind combines English mast, from French masse and Latin massa meaning "lump" or "mass," with mind from Proto-Indo-European men- meaning "to think."
mastermind (English): A person with an extraordinary intellect or skill...
Definitions
- A person with an extraordinary intellect or skill...
Ancestry of “mastermind”, step by step
mastermind traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English mind
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | mind | The ability for rational thought; The ability to... |
| 2 | Middle English | minde | — |
| 3 | Old English | mynd | mind |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | gamundiz | remembrance, memory; commemoration, memorial |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | ga- | Indicates association or togetherness; co-;... |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱóm | beside, near, by, with |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱe | Deictic particle, here; Post-positional... |
| 8 | Middle English | kyt | — |
| 9 | German | kitt | putty certain kinds of cement used for fixing e.g. window panes |
| 10 | Old High German | kuti | — |
| 11 | Proto-West Germanic | kwidu | gum, resin |
| 12 | Proto-Germanic | kweduz | resin |
| 13 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷet- | resin, gum; to say, speak |
| 14 | Proto-Indo-European | gū- | to bend; curve; arch; vault; to bow, bend, arch,... |
via English Master
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Master | Prepended to a boy's name or surname as a form... |
| 2 | English | Mast | — |
| 3 | French | masse | a paste, a dough; large amount or quantity of... |
| 4 | Old French | mace | mace weapon |
| 5 | Vulgar Latin | mattia | — |
| 6 | Latin | mateola | The meaning of this term is uncertain.... |
| 7 | Latin | -ulus | Used to form a diminutive of a noun, indicating... |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | -olos | — |
| 9 | Proto-Italic | -elos | Forms desubstantival and deadjectival diminutive nouns |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | -e-lós | — |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | -lós | Forms agent nouns from verbal roots |