Where does “muy” come from?
Muy comes from Old Spanish muito, from Latin multus meaning "much," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European mel- meaning "to grind" or "crush."
muy (English): very
Ancestry of “muy”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Spanish | muy | very |
| 2 | Old Spanish | muito | — |
| 3 | Latin | multum | much; very much, a lot; accusative masculine... |
| 4 | Latin | multus | much; many |
| 5 | Proto-Italic | moltos | — |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | ml̥tós | crumbled, crumpled |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | mel- | soft; tender; weak; to deceive; to rub |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | mey- | to strengthen; to bind; to change, exchange |