Where does “меньший” come from?
меньший (Russian) comes from Proto-Slavic mьňьjь, from Proto-Indo-European mēy- — soft, tender, dear.
Ancestry of “меньший”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Proto-Slavic | mьňьjь | smaller, lesser; comparative degree of *malъ |
| 2 | Proto-Indo-European | mēy- | soft, tender, dear |
Words derived from “меньший”