Where does “massacre” come from?
massacre (Middle French) comes from Old French macecrer, from Vulgar Latin matteuculare, from Latin matteuca, from Latin mattia, from Latin mateola, from Latin -ulus, from Proto-Italic -olos, from Proto-Italic -elos — Forms agent nouns from verbal roots.
massacre (Middle French): massacre
Definitions
- massacre
Ancestry of “massacre”, step by step
massacre traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Old French macecrer
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old French | macecrer | — |
| 2 | Vulgar Latin | matteuculare | — |
| 3 | Latin | matteuca | club (heavy object) |
| 4 | Latin | mattia | — |
| 5 | Latin | mateola | The meaning of this term is uncertain.... |
| 6 | Latin | -ulus | Used to form a diminutive of a noun, indicating... |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | -olos | — |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | -elos | Forms desubstantival and deadjectival diminutive nouns |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -e-lós | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | -lós | Forms agent nouns from verbal roots |