Where does “minister” come from?

minister (Latin) comes from Latin minus, from Proto-Italic minos — less.

minister (Latin): attendant, servant, waiter; agent, aide;...

Definitions

  1. attendant, servant, waiter; agent, aide;...

Ancestry of “minister”, step by step

minister traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Latin minus

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinminusnominative neuter singular of minor; accusative...
2Proto-Italicminosless

via Proto-Italic minosteros

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Proto-Italicminosteroslesser, smaller

Words derived from “minister”

Every word from Proto-Italic minos →