Where does “mutt” come from?
Mutt comes from English matha, from Sanskrit मठ (maṭh), which originally denoted a monastic establishment or temple.
mutt (English): A mongrel dog (or sometimes cat); an animal of mixed breed or uncertain origin
Definitions
- A mongrel dog (or sometimes cat); an animal of mixed breed or uncertain origin
Ancestry of “mutt”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | muttonhead | A stupid or foolish person |
| 2 | English | mutton | The flesh of sheep used as food; The flesh of... |
| 3 | Middle English | motoun | The meat of sheep or a piece of it; mutton; A... |
| 4 | Old French | mouton | sheep; mutton |
| 5 | Vulgar Latin | molto | wether |
| 6 | Gaulish | multon- | sheep |
| 7 | Proto-Celtic | moltos | ram, wether |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | (h₂)moldus | soft, weak |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | mel- | soft; tender; weak; to deceive; to rub |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | mey- | to strengthen; to bind; to change, exchange |