Where does “nunca” come from?
nunca (Spanish) comes from Spanish más, from Old Spanish mas, from Latin magis, from Dutch magisch, from Dutch magie, from French magie, from Middle French magie, from Latin magīa — to be able.
nunca (Spanish): never; ever
Definitions
- never; ever
Ancestry of “nunca”, step by step
nunca traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Spanish más
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spanish | más | more; -er; most; -est; furthermore |
| 2 | Old Spanish | mas | more; -er |
| 3 | Latin | magis | more; more greatly; better |
| 4 | Dutch | magisch | magical, controlled or determined by supernatural... |
| 5 | Dutch | magie | magic, sorcery occult woo, black or white magic, etc.; hence supernatural occurrences or phenonomena |
| 6 | French | magie | magic; A magical, surprising, fascinating feat;... |
| 7 | Middle French | magie | — |
| 8 | Latin | magīa | magic, sorcery |
| 9 | Ancient Greek | μαγεία | theology of the Magians |
| 10 | Ancient Greek | Μάγος | magician, and derogatorily sorcerer, trickster,... |
| 11 | Old Persian | 𐎶𐎦𐏁 | priest |
| 12 | Proto-Iranian | magúš | — |
| 13 | Proto-Indo-Iranian | magʰúš | — |
| 14 | Proto-Indo-European | megʰ-ú-s | — |
| 15 | Proto-Indo-European | megʰ- | to be able |
via Old Spanish nunqua
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old Spanish | nunqua | — |
| 2 | Latin | numquam | never, at no time |
| 3 | Latin | nē | no; not |
| 4 | Latin | gēns | Roman clan (related by birth or marriage and sharing a common name and often united by certain religious rites) |
| 5 | Proto-Italic | *gentis | — |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵénh₁tis | birth, production |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵenh₁- | to produce, to beget, to give birth |