Where does “smallie” come from?

smallie (English) comes from English Small, from Middle English smal, from Old English smæl, from Proto-West Germanic smal, from Proto-Germanic smalaz, from Proto-Indo-European (s)mal- — small; little.

smallie (English): smallmouth bass

Definitions

  1. smallmouth bass

Ancestry of “smallie”, step by step

smallie traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English Small

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishSmallNot large or big; insignificant; few in number
2Middle EnglishsmalSmall, miniscule; Little, few, scarce; Ground...
3Old Englishsmælnarrow, slim; not broad; slender; not thick;...
4Proto-West Germanicsmalsmall
5Proto-Germanicsmalazsmall
6Proto-Indo-European(s)mal-small; little

via English ie

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishieAlternative form of i.e
Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)mal-Every word from Proto-Germanic smalazEvery word from Proto-West Germanic smal