Where does “maternal” come from?
maternal (Middle English) comes from Middle French maternel, from Latin māternus, from Latin -nus, from Proto-Italic -nos, from Proto-Indo-European -nós — Creates verbal adjectives from roots.
Ancestry of “maternal”, step by step
maternal traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Middle French maternel
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle French | maternel | maternal |
| 2 | Latin | māternus | of or pertaining to a mother, maternal |
| 3 | Latin | -nus | -an |
| 4 | Proto-Italic | -nos | Creates verbal adjectives from verb stems |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | -nós | Creates verbal adjectives from roots |
via Latin māternālis
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Latin | māternālis | Of or pertaining to a mother, maternal |