Where does “teeny” come from?
Teeny comes from Middle English -y, Middle French -ie, Latin -ia, Latin -ivus, Latin -ia, and Proto-Indo-European -kos, a diminutive suffix expressing smallness.
teeny (English): Very small; tiny; fretful; peevish; cross
Definitions
- Very small; tiny; fretful; peevish; cross
Ancestry of “teeny”, step by step
teeny traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English tiny
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | tiny | Very small; A small child; an infant; Anything... |
| 2 | Middle English | tine | Alternative form of þin |
| 3 | Middle English | tinde | — |
| 4 | Old English | tind | a point or prong on a weapon or implement; a tine |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | *tind | — |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | tindaz | tooth; cog; peg; tine; nail; spike; prong; peak;... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | h₃dónts | tooth |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁ed- | to eat |