Where does “mean” come from?

mean (Scottish Gaelic) comes from Old Irish menbach, from Proto-Indo-European mēy- — soft, tender, dear.

mean (Scottish Gaelic): little, tiny

Definitions

  1. little, tiny

Ancestry of “mean”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Irishmenbachsmall
2Proto-Indo-Europeanmēy-soft, tender, dear
Every word from Proto-Indo-European mēy-Every word from Old Irish menbach
mean — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer