Where does “jamais” come from?
jamais (Portuguese) comes from Old Portuguese jamais, from Old Occitan ja mais, from Latin iam magis, from Latin magis, from Dutch magisch, from Dutch magie, from French magie, from Middle French magie.
jamais (Portuguese): never
Ancestry of “jamais”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Old Portuguese | jamais | — |
| 2 | Old Occitan | ja mais | — |
| 3 | Latin | iam magis | yet more |
| 4 | Latin | magis | more; more greatly; better |
| 5 | Dutch | magisch | magical, controlled or determined by supernatural... |
| 6 | Dutch | magie | magic, sorcery ; hence supernatural occurrences... |
| 7 | French | magie | magic; A magical, surprising, fascinating feat;... |
| 8 | Middle French | magie | — |
| 9 | Latin | magīa | — |
| 10 | Ancient Greek | μαγεία | — |
| 11 | Ancient Greek | Μάγος | magician, and derogatorily sorcerer, trickster,... |
| 12 | Old Persian | 𐎶𐎦𐏁 | priest |
| 13 | Proto-Iranian | magúš | — |
| 14 | Proto-Indo-Iranian | magʰúš | — |
| 15 | Proto-Indo-European | megʰ-ú-s | — |