Where does “*madyānaʰ” come from?
*madyānaʰ (Old Persian) comes from Proto-Iranian *madyānah, from Proto-Iranian *mádyah, from Proto-Indo-European *mádʰyas, from Proto-Indo-Iranian mádʰyas, from Proto-Indo-European médʰyos, from Proto-Indo-European medʰi-, from Proto-Indo-European me — in the middle of, near, by, around, with.
Ancestry of “*madyānaʰ”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Proto-Iranian | *madyānah | — |
| 2 | Proto-Iranian | *mádyah | — |
| 3 | Proto-Indo-European | *mádʰyas | — |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-Iranian | mádʰyas | middle |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | médʰyos | middle |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | medʰi- | with, among; with, along |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | me | in the middle of, near, by, around, with |