Etymology Explorer › Middle Low German

Where does “borgermester” come from?

borgermester (Middle Low German) comes from Norwegian Bokmål mester, from Old Norse meistari, from Middle Low German meister, from Old Saxon mēstar, from Old French maistre, from Latin magister, from Proto-Italic magisteros, from Proto-Indo-European méǵh₂isteros — big, great.

Ancestry of “borgermester”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Norwegian Bokmålmestera champion; a master
2Old Norsemeistari—
3Middle Low Germanmeister—
4Old Saxonmēstar—
5Old Frenchmaistremaster; Master; magister
6Latinmagisterteacher; master; a title of the Middle Ages,...
7Proto-Italicmagisteros—
8Proto-Indo-Europeanméǵh₂isteros—
9Proto-Indo-Europeanméǵh₂sbig, great

Words derived from “borgermester”

  • borgmästare
  • borgmästarinna
  • borgharamæstare
  • borghmæstare
  • borghamæstare
Every word from Proto-Indo-European méǵh₂s →