Where does “malus” come from?

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

malus (Latin): unpleasant, distressing, painful, nasty, bad;...

Definitions

  1. unpleasant, distressing, painful, nasty, bad;...

Ancestry of “malus”, step by step

malus traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Ancient Greek μηλέα

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Ancient Greekμηλέαapple tree
2Ancient Greekμῆλονapple; any fruit from a tree; a woman's breast
3Proto-Indo-European(s)meh₁l-small animal”; small animal

via Proto-Italic malos

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Proto-Italicmalos
2Proto-Indo-Europeanmel-soft; tender; weak; to deceive; to rub
3Proto-Indo-Europeanmey-to strengthen; to bind; to change, exchange

Words derived from “malus

Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)meh₁l-