Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “pall mall” come from?

pall mall (English) comes from Old French pale-maille, from Italian pallamaglio, from Italian palla, from Latin palla, from Frankish ball, from Northern Sami bállu, from Northern Sami ballát, from Proto-Samic pëlājëtēk — to fear.

pall mall (English): A 17th-century game in which a ball was driven...

Definitions

  1. A 17th-century game in which a ball was driven...

Ancestry of “pall mall”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchpale-maille—
2Italianpallamagliopall mall
3Italianpallaball; bullet, shot; testicles
4LatinpallaA rectangular piece of cloth worn by ladies in...
5Frankishball—
6Northern Samibállutesticle, ball
7Northern Samiballátto become scared
8Proto-Samicpëlājëtēkto become scared
9Proto-Samicpëlëtēkto fear
10Proto-Uralicpele-to fear

Words derived from “pall mall”

  • mall
  • malling
  • minimall
  • megamall
  • cybermall
  • supermall
  • mallification
  • mallspeak
  • Pall Mall
  • mallgoer
  • mall-goer
  • mallgoth
  • モール
  • mall
  • مول
  • mall
Every word from Proto-Uralic pele- →