Etymology Explorer › French

Where does “pire” come from?

pire (French) comes from Middle French pire, from Old French pire, from Latin pēior, from Latin malus, from Ancient Greek μηλέα, from Ancient Greek μῆλον, from Proto-Indo-European (s)meh₁l- — small animal”; small animal.

pire (French): comparative degree of mauvais: worse; the worst

Definitions

  1. comparative degree of mauvais: worse; the worst

Ancestry of “pire”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Frenchpireworse
2Old Frenchpirenominative singular of peior; Alternative form of...
3Latinpēior—
4Latinmalusunpleasant, distressing, painful, nasty, bad;...
5Ancient Greekμηλέα—
6Ancient Greekμῆλονapple; any fruit from a tree; a woman's breast
7Proto-Indo-European(s)meh₁l-small animal”; small animal
Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)meh₁l- →