Etymology Explorer › Middle English

Where does “mayled” come from?

mayled (Middle English) comes from Middle English mayle, from Old French maille, from Vulgar Latin macla, from Latin Macula, from Proto-Indo-European smh₁-tleh₂, from Proto-Indo-European smeh₁- — smear, rub.

Ancestry of “mayled”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishmayle—
2Old Frenchmaillechainmail; mail
3Vulgar Latinmaclamedieval spelling of macula; ablative singular of...
4LatinMacula—
5Proto-Indo-Europeansmh₁-tleh₂—
6Proto-Indo-Europeansmeh₁-smear, rub
Every word from Proto-Indo-European smeh₁- →