Where does “skjønnmale” come from?

skjønnmale (Norwegian Bokmål) comes from Norwegian Bokmål måle, from Norwegian Bokmål mål, from Dutch mal, from Old French mole, from Latin modulus, from Latin -ulus, from Proto-Italic -olos, from Proto-Italic -elos — Forms agent nouns from verbal roots.

skjønnmale (Norwegian Bokmål): to depict something or someone as being better than in reality, to embellish, to furbish, to refurbish

Definitions

  1. to depict something or someone as being better than in reality, to embellish, to furbish, to refurbish

Ancestry of “skjønnmale”, step by step

skjønnmale traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Norwegian Bokmål måle

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Norwegian Bokmålmåleto measure
2Norwegian Bokmålmållanguage, dialect; aim, goal, purpose, target,...
3Dutchmalmold, cast; foolish, crazy, lacking common sense
4Old Frenchmole
5Latinmodulusa small measure or interval; a module; a water...
6Latin-ulusUsed to form a diminutive of a noun, indicating...
7Proto-Italic-olos
8Proto-Italic-elosForms desubstantival and deadjectival diminutive nouns
9Proto-Indo-European-e-lós
10Proto-Indo-European-lósForms agent nouns from verbal roots

via Norwegian Bokmål skjønn

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Norwegian Bokmålskjønnbeautiful; imperative of skjønne
2Low Germanschone
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -lósEvery word from Latin -ulusEvery word from Latin modulus