Where does “má” come from?
má (Old Norse) comes from Old Norse mega, from Proto-Germanic maganą, from Proto-Indo-European (me)mógʰe, from Proto-Indo-European megʰ- — to be able.
Ancestry of “má”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Old Norse | mega | must, may; to be able to |
| 2 | Proto-Germanic | maganą | to be able, may |
| 3 | Proto-Indo-European | (me)mógʰe | to have power, to be able to |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | megʰ- | to be able |