Etymology Explorer › French

Where does “minable” come from?

minable (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.

minable (French): lousy, stinky, rubbish; miserable, pathetic

Definitions

  1. lousy, stinky, rubbish; miserable, pathetic

Ancestry of “minable”, 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

Words derived from “minable”

  • minablement
Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)mēy(H)- →