Where does “smallfolk” come from?
smallfolk (English) comes from English folk, from German volk, from Middle High German volc, from Old High German folc, from Proto-West Germanic folk, from Proto-Germanic fulką, from Proto-Indo-European pleh₁- — to fill.
smallfolk (English): Small humanoid creatures, such as gnomes and...
Definitions
- Small humanoid creatures, such as gnomes and...
Ancestry of “smallfolk”, step by step
smallfolk traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English folk
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | folk | Of or pertaining to the inhabitants of a land,... |
| 2 | German | volk | people, nation, folk, tribe, race group united by culture, history, descent, and/or language |
| 3 | Middle High German | volc | — |
| 4 | Old High German | folc | folk; people collectively, nation; people, nation |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | folk | people, tribe |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | fulką | people; tribe |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | pleh₁- | to fill |
via English Small
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Small | Not large or big; insignificant; few in number |
| 2 | Middle English | smal | Small, miniscule; Little, few, scarce; Ground... |
| 3 | Old English | smæl | narrow, slim; not broad; slender; not thick;... |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | smal | small |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | smalaz | small |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)mal- | small; little |