Where does “measles” come from?
Measles comes from Middle English mesel, from Middle Dutch masel, from Old Dutch masala, from Proto-Germanic masalō, of unknown ultimate origin.
measles (English): Rubeola, an acute highly contagious disease,...
Definitions
- Rubeola, an acute highly contagious disease,...
Ancestry of “measles”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | mesel | A leper |
| 2 | Norman French | mesel | — |
| 3 | Old French | mesel | leper |
| 4 | Latin | misellus | poor, wretched |
| 5 | Latin | -ellus | Alternative form of -ulus; "forming masculine... |
| 6 | Latin | -ulus | Used to form a diminutive of a noun, indicating... |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | -olos | — |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | -elos | Forms desubstantival and deadjectival diminutive nouns |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -e-lós | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | -lós | Forms agent nouns from verbal roots |