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
Definitions
- never
Ancestry of “jamais”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old Portuguese | jamais | — |
| 2 | Old Occitan | ja mais | ever |
| 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 occult woo, black or white magic, etc.; hence supernatural occurrences or phenonomena |
| 7 | French | magie | magic; A magical, surprising, fascinating feat;... |
| 8 | Middle French | magie | — |
| 9 | Latin | magīa | magic, sorcery |
| 10 | Ancient Greek | μαγεία | theology of the Magians |
| 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 | — |