Where does “мало-мальски” come from?

мало-мальски (Russian) comes from Russian ма́лый, from Old East Slavic малъ, from Proto-Slavic malъ, from Proto-Indo-European (s)mal- — small; little.

мало-мальски (Russian): reasonably [more or less] well, to some extent, to an acceptable extent

Definitions

  1. reasonably [more or less] well, to some extent, to an acceptable extent

Ancestry of “мало-мальски”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Russianма́лыйlittle, not much; small
2Old East Slavicмалъsmall
3Proto-Slavicmalъsmall; little
4Proto-Indo-European(s)mal-small; little
Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)mal- →Every word from Proto-Slavic malъ →Every word from Old East Slavic малъ →