Where does “мало-помалу” come from?

мало-помалу (Russian) comes from Russian ПО, from Old East Slavic по, from Proto-Slavic po, from Proto-Indo-European h₂pó, from Proto-Indo-European h₂epo — from, off, back; off, away; off, from.

мало-помалу (Russian): bit by bit, little by little small amount at a time

Definitions

  1. bit by bit, little by little small amount at a time

Ancestry of “мало-помалу”, step by step

мало-помалу traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Russian ПО

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1RussianПОsoftware
2Old East Slavicпоon, along, by
3Proto-Slavicpoafter; by; at
4Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂póoff, away
5Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂epofrom, off, back; off, away; off, from

via Russian мало

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Russianмалоlittle, few; too little, too few; short neuter...
2Old East Slavicмалъsmall
3Proto-Slavicmalъsmall; little
4Proto-Indo-European(s)mal-small; little
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂epo →Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂pó →Every word from Proto-Slavic po →