Where does “email” come from?
email (Middle French) comes from Old French esmal, from Latin smaltum, from Frankish smalt, from Proto-Germanic smeltaną, from Proto-Indo-European (s)meld- — to soften, to melt.
Ancestry of “email”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Old French | esmal | enamel |
| 2 | Latin | smaltum | enamel |
| 3 | Frankish | smalt | melted fat; fat, lard; oil, semi-liquid fat |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | smeltaną | to melt |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)meld- | to soften, to melt |