Etymology Explorer › Russian

Where does “ме́ньший” come from?

ме́ньший (Russian) comes from Proto-Slavic mьňьjь, from Proto-Indo-European mēy- — soft, tender, dear.

Ancestry of “ме́ньший”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Proto-Slavicmьňьjьsmaller, lesser; comparative degree of *malъ
2Proto-Indo-Europeanmēy-soft, tender, dear

Words derived from “ме́ньший”

  • меньшее
  • наименьший
Every word from Proto-Indo-European mēy- →