Where does “pale-maille” come from?
pale-maille (Old French) comes from Italian pallamaglio, from Italian palla, from Latin palla, from Frankish ball, from Northern Sami bállu, from Northern Sami ballát, from Proto-Samic pëlājëtēk, from Proto-Samic pëlëtēk — to fear.
Ancestry of “pale-maille”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Italian | pallamaglio | pall mall |
| 2 | Italian | palla | ball; bullet, shot; testicles |
| 3 | Latin | palla | A rectangular piece of cloth worn by ladies in... |
| 4 | Frankish | ball | — |
| 5 | Northern Sami | bállu | testicle, ball |
| 6 | Northern Sami | ballát | to become scared |
| 7 | Proto-Samic | pëlājëtēk | to become scared |
| 8 | Proto-Samic | pëlëtēk | to fear |
| 9 | Proto-Uralic | pele- | to fear |