Etymology Explorer › Middle French

Where does “pire” come from?

pire (Middle French) comes from Old French pire, from Latin pēior, from Latin malus, from Ancient Greek μηλέα, from Ancient Greek μῆλον, from Proto-Indo-European (s)meh₁l- — small animal”; small animal.

pire (Middle French): worse

Definitions

  1. worse

Ancestry of “pire”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchpirenominative singular of peior; Alternative form of...
2Latinpēior—
3Latinmalusunpleasant, distressing, painful, nasty, bad;...
4Ancient Greekμηλέα—
5Ancient Greekμῆλονapple; any fruit from a tree; a woman's breast
6Proto-Indo-European(s)meh₁l-small animal”; small animal

Words derived from “pire”

  • pire
Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)meh₁l- →