Etymology Explorer › Frankish

Where does “ball” come from?

ball (Frankish) comes from Northern Sami bállu, from Northern Sami ballát, from Proto-Samic pëlājëtēk, from Proto-Samic pëlëtēk, from Proto-Uralic pele- — to fear.

Ancestry of “ball”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Northern Samibállutesticle, ball
2Northern Samiballátto become scared
3Proto-Samicpëlājëtēkto become scared
4Proto-Samicpëlëtēkto fear
5Proto-Uralicpele-to fear

Words derived from “ball”

  • balloon
  • ballot
  • mall
  • balloonist
  • ballon
  • palla
  • paletot
  • ballonet
  • balloonlike
  • pallone
  • malling
  • ballooner
  • minimall
  • megamall
  • cybermall
  • balloony
  • ballotin
  • supermall
  • mallification
  • balloonfish
  • looner
  • balloter
  • balloonless
  • pall mall
Every word from Proto-Uralic pele- →