Where does “mold” come from?
mold (Middle English) comes from Old French molde, from Latin modulus, from Latin -ulus, from Proto-Italic -olos, from Proto-Italic -elos, from Proto-Indo-European -e-lós, from Proto-Indo-European -lós — Forms agent nouns from verbal roots.
Ancestry of “mold”, step by step
mold traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Old French molde
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old French | molde | — |
| 2 | Latin | modulus | a small measure or interval; a module; a water... |
| 3 | Latin | -ulus | Used to form a diminutive of a noun, indicating... |
| 4 | Proto-Italic | -olos | — |
| 5 | Proto-Italic | -elos | Forms desubstantival and deadjectival diminutive nouns |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | -e-lós | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -lós | Forms agent nouns from verbal roots |
via Old English molde
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old English | molde | earth, soil; the earth, world |
| 2 | Proto-Germanic | muldō | mould; soil, dirt |
| 3 | Proto-Indo-European | melh₂- | to grind, to crush |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | mel- | soft; tender; weak; to deceive; to rub |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | mey- | to strengthen; to bind; to change, exchange |