Where does “mayden” come from?
mayden (Middle English) comes from Old English mægden, from Proto-West Germanic magadīn, from Proto-West Germanic -īn, from Proto-Germanic -īnaz, from Proto-Indo-European -iHnos, from Proto-Indo-European -no- — adjectival suffix.
Ancestry of “mayden”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Old English | mægden | girl; virgin, young unmarried woman |
| 2 | Proto-West Germanic | magadīn | little girl |
| 3 | Proto-West Germanic | -īn | Creates adjectives from nouns with the sense... |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | -īnaz | -en |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | -iHnos | Creates adjectives of materials |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | -no- | adjectival suffix |