Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “mien” come from?

I appreciate the detailed instructions, but I need to flag an issue: the etymological chain provided shows circular borrowing between French and Breton (mine/min repeating) without any ultimate origin language, and the "Known meaning: (unknown)" makes it impossible to write an accurate sentence following your rule to "weave in the oldest one to explain the sense development." Could you verify: - Is there an origin language before the French/Breton cycle? - What is the actual meaning of "mien" that should appear in the summary? Without these, I cannot responsibly write a sentence that wouldn't violate your rule against inventing unsupported information.

mien (English): Demeanor; facial expression or attitude,...

Definitions

  1. Demeanor; facial expression or attitude,...

Ancestry of “mien”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchminemine; pencil lead; piledriver, scorcher
2Bretonminface of an animal; beak, muzzle
3Italianminamine, land mine; lead in pencils; mine which...
4LatinminaA Greek weight equal to 100 drachmas; A Greek...
5Gaulishmēnāore, mine
6Proto-Celtic*meinis—
7Proto-Indo-Europeanmēy(H)nis—
8Proto-Indo-European(s)mēy(H)-to cut, hew

Words derived from “mien”

  • mine
  • mining
  • undermine
  • undermining
  • miner
  • minefield
  • minesweeper
  • coalmining
  • coalmine
  • countermine
  • minesweeping
  • mineshaft
  • miny
  • minelayer
  • minable
  • coalminer
  • mineworker
  • mineable
  • underminer
  • nonmining
  • unminable
  • postmining
  • minesite
  • minehunter
Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)mēy(H)- →