Where does “móðurmál” come from?

móðurmál (Icelandic) comes from Icelandic mál, from Icelandic mála, from Old Norse mála, from Middle Low German mālen, from Old Saxon *mālōn, from Proto-West Germanic *mālēn, from Proto-Albanian melana, from Proto-Indo-European melh₂-n- — to strengthen; to bind; to change, exchange.

móðurmál (Icelandic): mother tongue

Definitions

  1. mother tongue

Ancestry of “móðurmál”, step by step

móðurmál traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Icelandic mál

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Icelandicmállanguage; speech; matter, affair
2Icelandicmálato paint; indefinite genitive plural of mál
3Old Norsemálato grind
4Middle Low Germanmālento draw, paint; to paint
5Old Saxon*mālōn—
6Proto-West Germanic*mālēnto paint
7Proto-Albanianmelanablack
8Proto-Indo-Europeanmelh₂-n-dull black
9Proto-Indo-Europeanmelh₂-to grind, to crush
10Proto-Indo-Europeanmel-soft; tender; weak; to deceive; to rub
11Proto-Indo-Europeanmey-to strengthen; to bind; to change, exchange

via Icelandic móðir

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Icelandicmóðirmother
2Old Norsemóðirmother
3Proto-Germanicmōdērmother
4Proto-Indo-Europeanméh₂tērmother
Every word from Proto-Indo-European mey- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European mel- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European melh₂- →