Etymology Explorer › French

Where does “mine” come from?

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

mine (French): mine; pencil lead; piledriver, scorcher

Definitions

  1. mine; pencil lead; piledriver, scorcher

Ancestry of “mine”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Bretonminface of an animal; beak, muzzle
2Italianminamine, land mine; lead in pencils; mine which...
3LatinminaA Greek weight equal to 100 drachmas; A Greek...
4Gaulishmēnāore, mine
5Proto-Celtic*meinis—
6Proto-Indo-Europeanmēy(H)nis—
7Proto-Indo-European(s)mēy(H)-to cut, hew

Words derived from “mine”

  • mine
  • mining
  • undermine
  • undermining
  • miner
  • mien
  • minefield
  • minesweeper
  • coalmining
  • coalmine
  • countermine
  • minesweeping
  • mineshaft
  • miny
  • minelayer
  • minable
  • coalminer
  • mineworker
  • mineable
  • minenwerfer
  • underminer
  • nonmining
  • unminable
  • postmining
Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)mēy(H)- →