Where does “мадемуазель” come from?
мадемуазель (Russian) comes from French Mademoiselle, from French demoiselle, from Old French damoisele, from Vulgar Latin domnicella, from Latin domina, from Latin Dominus, from Latin domus, from Proto-Italic domos — to build; to arrange, to put together.
Ancestry of “мадемуазель”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | French | Mademoiselle | Miss |
| 2 | French | demoiselle | damsel, maiden; miss; damselfly |
| 3 | Old French | damoisele | girl; young lady |
| 4 | Vulgar Latin | domnicella | weasel; little maiden; damsel, maiden |
| 5 | Latin | domina | lady or mistress of the house |
| 6 | Latin | Dominus | the Lord; Lord; The Lord |
| 7 | Latin | domus | house, home; any building or abode; native place,... |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | domos | house, home |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | dṓm | home; house |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | dem- | to build; to arrange, to put together |