Where does “balmyard” come from?
balmyard (Jamaican Creole) comes from Jamaican Creole yard, from English Yard, from English milliard, from French milliard, from French million, from Middle French million, from Old French millon, from Italian milione.
balmyard (Jamaican Creole): A place where obeah and pocomania rituals are practised
Definitions
- A place where obeah and pocomania rituals are practised
Ancestry of “balmyard”, step by step
balmyard traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Jamaican Creole yard
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jamaican Creole | yard | home |
| 2 | English | Yard | Scotland Yard or New Scotland Yard |
| 3 | English | milliard | 10, a thousand million |
| 4 | French | milliard | A milliard |
| 5 | French | million | million, 10 |
| 6 | Middle French | million | million, 10 |
| 7 | Old French | millon | — |
| 8 | Italian | milione | million |
| 9 | Italian | mille | thousand |
| 10 | Latin | Mīlle | thousand; 1000 |
| 11 | Proto-Italic | smīɣeslī | thousand |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | smih₂ǵʰéslih₂ | — |
via English balm
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | balm | Any of various aromatic resins exuded from... |
| 2 | Middle English | bawme | The aromatic resin of trees of the genus Commiphora; balsam |
| 3 | French | Baumé | a French family name |
| 4 | Old French | basme | — |
| 5 | Latin | balsamum | balsam (substance or tree); balm |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | βάλσαμον | Arabian balsam tree; balsam, the fragrant oil... |
| 7 | Hebrew | בושם | perfume |
| 8 | Proto-Semitic | *buśm- | — |