Etymology Explorer › French

Where does “mina” come from?

mina (French) comes from French miner, from French mine, from Breton min, from Italian mina, from Latin mina, from Gaulish mēnā, from Proto-Celtic *meinis, from Proto-Indo-European mēy(H)nis — to cut, hew.

mina (French): third-person singular past historic of miner

Definitions

  1. third-person singular past historic of miner

Ancestry of “mina”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchminerto mine, exploit natural riches; to undermine; to...
2Frenchminemine; pencil lead; piledriver, scorcher
3Bretonminface of an animal; beak, muzzle
4Italianminamine, land mine; lead in pencils; mine which...
5LatinminaA Greek weight equal to 100 drachmas; A Greek...
6Gaulishmēnāore, mine
7Proto-Celtic*meinis—
8Proto-Indo-Europeanmēy(H)nis—
9Proto-Indo-European(s)mēy(H)-to cut, hew
Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)mēy(H)- →