Where does “mistreatment” come from?
Mistreatment is derived from English treat with the suffix -ment, from Old French -ment and Latin -mentum, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European meit-, while treat derives from Latin trahere meaning to draw or drag.
mistreatment (English): Cruel, abusive, unfair, or thoughtless treatment of a person or animal (or rarely an object)
Definitions
- Cruel, abusive, unfair, or thoughtless treatment of a person or animal (or rarely an object)
Ancestry of “mistreatment”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | mistreat | To treat someone, or something roughly or badly |
| 2 | English | treat | To negotiate, discuss terms, bargain; To... |
| 3 | Middle English | treten | — |
| 4 | Old French | tretier | — |
| 5 | Latin | tractāre | — |
| 6 | Latin | tractō | to tug, drag or haul |
| 7 | Latin | -tō | Forms here |
| 8 | Latin | -tus | Forms the past participle of verbs; Forms... |
| 9 | Proto-Italic | -tus | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | -tus | Derives action nouns from verb roots |