Where does “minst” come from?
minst (Middle Dutch) comes from Old Dutch minnist, from Proto-Germanic minnistaz, from Proto-Indo-European minu- — small.
minst (Middle Dutch): smallest; least numerous
Ancestry of “minst”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Old Dutch | minnist | — |
| 2 | Proto-Germanic | minnistaz | superlative degree of *lītilaz |
| 3 | Proto-Indo-European | minu- | small |