Where does “measly” come from?
Measly derives from Middle English measle plus the diminutive suffix -y, from Latin misellus meaning wretched or miserable, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European roots.
measly (English): Particularly of pigs or pork: infected with...
Definitions
- Particularly of pigs or pork: infected with...
Ancestry of “measly”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | measle | A leper; A tapeworm larva |
| 2 | Middle English | mesel | A leper |
| 3 | Norman French | mesel | — |
| 4 | Old French | mesel | leper |
| 5 | Latin | misellus | poor, wretched |
| 6 | Latin | -ellus | Alternative form of -ulus; "forming masculine... |
| 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 |