Where does “mineralogy” come from?
Mineralogy comes from English mineral plus the suffix -logy, with mineral deriving from Middle English mineral, Old French mineral, Medieval Latin minerale, Latin minera meaning ore or mine, and Middle French miniere.
mineralogy (English): The branch of petrology that studies minerals;...
Definitions
- The branch of petrology that studies minerals;...
Ancestry of “mineralogy”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Latin | minerālogia | — |
| 2 | Medieval Latin | minera | ore; mine; vein |
| 3 | Middle French | miniere | underground passage or area |
| 4 | Middle French | -ier | Alternative form of -er |
| 5 | Middle French | -er | Forms infinitives of first-conjugation verbs;... |
| 6 | Latin | -āre | first conjugation |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | -āō | Forms primarily denominative verbs |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -eh₂yéti | Creates iterative/ frequentative/ intensive... |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -yéti | Creates intransitive, often deponent,... |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | yé- | — |
| 11 | Chichewa | iye | he, she |