Where does “meimei” come from?
meimei (Papiamentu) comes from Kabuverdianu meiu, from Portuguese meio, from Portuguese meio-dia, from Portuguese dia, from Old Portuguese dia, from Vulgar Latin dia, from Latin diēs, from Proto-Italic djēm — to be bright; sky, heaven.
meimei (Papiamentu): in the middle, halfway
Definitions
- in the middle, halfway
Ancestry of “meimei”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kabuverdianu | meiu | half; middle |
| 2 | Portuguese | meio | half; a little bit; almost |
| 3 | Portuguese | meio-dia | noon |
| 4 | Portuguese | dia | day; occurring on the specified day of the month |
| 5 | Old Portuguese | dia | day |
| 6 | Vulgar Latin | dia | inflection of dius: ## nominative/vocative... |
| 7 | Latin | diēs | A day, particularly |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | djēm | accusative singular of *djous |
| 9 | Proto-Italic | *djous | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | dyḗws | sky, heaven; sky god |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | dyéws | sky, heaven |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | dyew- | to be bright; sky, heaven |