Where does “mal à propos” come from?
mal à propos (French) comes from French mal, from Old French mal, from Latin malleus, from Proto-Indo-European melh₂-no-, from Proto-Indo-European melh₂-, from Proto-Indo-European mel-, from Proto-Indo-European mey- — to strengthen; to bind; to change, exchange.
mal à propos (French): inappropriately
Definitions
- inappropriately
Ancestry of “mal à propos”, step by step
mal à propos traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via French mal
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | mal | trouble, difficulty; pain; evil |
| 2 | Old French | mal | evilly; badly; poorly; evil |
| 3 | Latin | malleus | hammer, mallet; a disease of animals; the... |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | melh₂-no- | — |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | melh₂- | to grind, to crush |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | mel- | soft; tender; weak; to deceive; to rub |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | mey- | to strengthen; to bind; to change, exchange |
via French à propos
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | à propos | opportunely, at the right time, just in time; by... |