Where does “maille” come from?
maille (Middle English) comes from Old French maille, from Vulgar Latin macla, from Latin Macula, from Proto-Indo-European smh₁-tleh₂, from Proto-Indo-European smeh₁- — smear, rub.
maille (Middle English): mail armor
Ancestry of “maille”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Old French | maille | chainmail; mail |
| 2 | Vulgar Latin | macla | medieval spelling of macula; ablative singular of... |
| 3 | Latin | Macula | — |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | smh₁-tleh₂ | — |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | smeh₁- | smear, rub |