Where does “malentendu” come from?
malentendu (French) comes from French mal-, from Middle French mal-, from Old French mal-, from Latin male, from Latin malus, from Ancient Greek μηλέα, from Ancient Greek μῆλον, from Proto-Indo-European (s)meh₁l- — small animal”; small animal.
malentendu (French): misunderstanding
Ancestry of “malentendu”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | French | mal- | badly; wrongly; denotes the opposite of the... |
| 2 | Middle French | mal- | — |
| 3 | Old French | mal- | bad; badly |
| 4 | Latin | male | badly; wrongly; cruelly, wickedly |
| 5 | Latin | malus | unpleasant, distressing, painful, nasty, bad;... |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | μηλέα | — |
| 7 | Ancient Greek | μῆλον | apple; any fruit from a tree; a woman's breast |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)meh₁l- | small animal”; small animal |