Where does “menu” come from?

Menu comes from French menu, from Latin minutus meaning "small or fine," derived from the verb minuo meaning "to lessen," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European mey- meaning "to diminish."

menu (English): The details of the food to be served at a...

Definitions

  1. The details of the food to be served at a...

Ancestry of “menu”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchmenuslim, small, fine; minor, trifling; detailed list
2Middle Frenchmenusmall
3Old Frenchmenusmall
4Latinminūtusdiminished, having been diminished
5Proto-Italicminwō—
6Proto-Indo-Europeanmēy-soft, tender, dear

Words derived from “menu”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European mēy- →