Where does “Mesdames” come from?
Mesdames (French) comes from French mes, from Old French mes, from Latin magis, from Dutch magisch, from Dutch magie, from French magie, from Middle French magie, from Latin magīa — to be able.
Mesdames (French): plural of Madame
Ancestry of “Mesdames”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | French | mes | my |
| 2 | Old French | mes | but; my |
| 3 | Latin | magis | more; more greatly; better |
| 4 | Dutch | magisch | magical, controlled or determined by supernatural... |
| 5 | Dutch | magie | magic, sorcery ; hence supernatural occurrences... |
| 6 | French | magie | magic; A magical, surprising, fascinating feat;... |
| 7 | Middle French | magie | — |
| 8 | Latin | magīa | — |
| 9 | Ancient Greek | μαγεία | — |
| 10 | Ancient Greek | Μάγος | magician, and derogatorily sorcerer, trickster,... |
| 11 | Old Persian | 𐎶𐎦𐏁 | priest |
| 12 | Proto-Iranian | magúš | — |
| 13 | Proto-Indo-Iranian | magʰúš | — |
| 14 | Proto-Indo-European | megʰ-ú-s | — |
| 15 | Proto-Indo-European | megʰ- | to be able |