Where does “peppermint” come from?
peppermint (English) comes from English mint, from Middle English minten, from Hungarian menten, from Hungarian mente, from Hungarian ment, from Hungarian mén, from Hungarian megy, from Proto-Uralic mene- — to go.
peppermint (English): A hybrid herb of the mint family (Mentha × piperita), formed by crossing watermint and spearmint, which has a high menthol content and a sharp flavor and is used in cooking, especially in herb teas and in confections
Definitions
- A hybrid herb of the mint family (Mentha × piperita), formed by crossing watermint and spearmint, which has a high menthol content and a sharp flavor and is used in cooking, especially in herb teas and in confections
Ancestry of “peppermint”, step by step
peppermint traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English mint
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | mint | A building or institution where money is... |
| 2 | Middle English | minten | Alternative form of mynten |
| 3 | Hungarian | menten | at once, on the spot, immediately |
| 4 | Hungarian | mente | leaving from somewhere; going somewhere; the... |
| 5 | Hungarian | ment | to rescue, to save; third-person singular past of... |
| 6 | Hungarian | mén | stallion; archaic third-person singular... |
| 7 | Hungarian | megy | to go |
| 8 | Proto-Uralic | mene- | to go |
via English pepper
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | pepper | A plant of the family Piperaceae; A spice... |
| 2 | Middle English | peper | pepper; The plant that produces the fruit... |
| 3 | Old English | piper | Alternative form of pipor |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | piper | — |
| 5 | Latin | piper | pepper |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | πέπερι | pepper; black pepper |
| 7 | Sanskrit | पिप्पलि | berry; peppercorn; long pepper |
| 8 | Sanskrit | पिप्पल | berry; the sacred fig, "Ficus religiosa"; a kind... |