Where does “mischievously” come from?
Mischievously derives from Middle English mischevously, formed with the Middle English adverbial suffix -ly from Old English -līċ, itself from Proto-Germanic -līkaz, ultimately tracing through Old French chever and Latin caput (head) to Proto-Indo-European kauput-.
mischievously (English): In a mischievous manner
Definitions
- In a mischievous manner
Ancestry of “mischievously”, step by step
mischievously traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English mischievous
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | mischievous | Causing mischief; injurious; Troublesome, cheeky,... |
| 2 | Middle English | myschevous | Sorrowful, distraught; experiencing hardship or... |
| 3 | Anglo-Norman | meschevous | — |
| 4 | Old French | meschever | to fail; to make a mistake; to suffer a... |
| 5 | Old French | mes | but; my |
| 6 | Latin | magis | more; more greatly; better |
| 7 | Dutch | magisch | magical, controlled or determined by supernatural... |
| 8 | Dutch | magie | magic, sorcery occult woo, black or white magic, etc.; hence supernatural occurrences or phenonomena |
| 9 | French | magie | magic; A magical, surprising, fascinating feat;... |
| 10 | Middle French | magie | — |
| 11 | Latin | magīa | magic, sorcery |
| 12 | Ancient Greek | μαγεία | theology of the Magians |
| 13 | Ancient Greek | Μάγος | magician, and derogatorily sorcerer, trickster,... |
| 14 | Old Persian | 𐎶𐎦𐏁 | priest |
| 15 | Proto-Iranian | magúš | — |
via Middle English mischevously
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | mischevously | Alternative form of myschevously |