Where does “മാ” come from?

മാ (Malayalam) comes from Old Tamil 𑀫𑀸, from Sanskrit महा, from Proto-Indo-Aryan maźʰā́, from Proto-Indo-Iranian maȷ́ʰā́, from Proto-Indo-European méǵh₂s — big, great.

മാ (Malayalam): mango tree

Definitions

  1. mango tree

Ancestry of “മാ”, step by step

മാ traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Old Tamil 𑀫𑀸

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Tamil𑀫𑀸big
2Sanskritमहाcombining form of महत्; buffalo; great, large,...
3Proto-Indo-Aryanmaźʰā́—
4Proto-Indo-Iranianmaȷ́ʰā́big, great
5Proto-Indo-Europeanméǵh₂sbig, great

via Sanskrit मा

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Sanskritमाdon't; accusative singular of अहम्; to sound,...
2Proto-IranianmáH—
3Proto-Indo-IranianmaHdo not; prohibitive particle
4Proto-Indo-Europeanmeh₁prohibitive particle

Words derived from “മാ”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European méǵh₂s →Every word from Proto-Indo-Iranian maȷ́ʰā́ →Every word from Proto-Indo-Aryan maźʰā́ →