Where does “middlingish” come from?
middlingish (English) comes from English middling, from English middle, from Middle English myddel, from Old English middel, from Proto-West Germanic *midl, from Proto-Germanic midlą, from Proto-Germanic midjō, from Proto-Indo-European médʰyos — in the middle of, near, by, around, with.
middlingish (English): Somewhat middling
Definitions
- Somewhat middling
Ancestry of “middlingish”, step by step
middlingish traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English middling
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | middling | Of intermediate or average size, position, or... |
| 2 | English | middle | A centre, midpoint; The part between the... |
| 3 | Middle English | myddel | The middle or centre of something |
| 4 | Old English | middel | middle |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | *midl | — |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | midlą | middle |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | midjō | middle, midst |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | médʰyos | middle |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | medʰi- | with, among; with, along |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | me | in the middle of, near, by, around, with |
via English ish
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | ish | Pronunciation spelling of is; somewhat,... |
| 2 | English | -ish | Typical of, similar to, being like; Somewhat,... |
| 3 | Middle English | -ish | Alternative form of -yssh |
| 4 | Old English | -isċ | -ish |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | -isk | Creates adjectives from nouns |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | -iskaz | Forms adjectives from nouns with the sense of... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -iskos | Characteristic of, typical of, pertaining to |