"M" Word Origins

McNeal

Origin

Variant of McNeil.

mcneer

Origin

Variant of McNair.

McNeil

Irish

Anglicized form of Irish and Scottish Gaelic Mac Néill (“son of Níall”).

mcneill

Origin

From Scottish Gaelic Mac (“son of”) + Niall (“possibly "the champion”).

McNulty

Irish

Anglicized form of Irish Mac an Ultaigh (“son of the Ulsterman”), from Ultach (“Ulsterman”).

mcphearson

Origin

Variant of McPherson.

McPhee

Origin

Anglicized form of Scottish Gaelic Mac Dhuibhshìthe /MacDhuibhshith.

McPherson

Origin

Anglicized form of Scottish Gaelic Mac a' Phearsain (“son of the parson”), from pearsan (“parson”).

mcphie

Origin

Variant of McPhee.

McQuaid

Irish

Anglicized form of Irish Mac Uaid (“son of Uad”).

McQueen

Irish

* As a Scottish Gaelic and Irish surname, from Mac Shuibhne (“son of Suibhne”), a byname meaning "pleasant." See McSweeney. * Also as a Scottish and Irish surname, from Mac Shuain, based on Old Norse sveinn (“boy servant”). Also compare Swain, McSwan. * Also as a Scottish and Irish surname, Anglicized form of Irish Mac Caoimhín (literally “son of Kevin”). * As a French surname, Americanized from Moquin.

mcquire

Origin

Variant of McGuire.

McRae

Origin

Anglicized form of Scottish Gaelic Mac Raith (“son of grace”), from mac + rath. Compare the Irish form McGrath.

mcray

Origin

Variant of McRae.

mcree

Origin

Variant of McRae.

mcritchie

Origin

From a Scottish Gaelic surname meaning "son of Richard".

McTavish

Origin

Anglicized form of Scottish Gaelic Mac Tamhais (“son of Thomas”).

McVeigh

Origin

Variant of McVey.

MD

Latin

An initialism of Latin Medicinae Doctor, 'teacher of medicine'.

ME

Latin

From Old English mē, the very old dative form of "I" that eventually took over from the original accusative form too — it goes all the way back to a Proto-Indo-European root shared by Latin mē, Greek emé, and Sanskrit mā.

mea culpa

Latin

From Latin mea culpa 'through my own fault', from the Confiteor prayer of the Roman rite.

Meacham

Origin

Variant of Machen.

mead

Old English

From Old English medu, going back to a very old Indo-European word for honey or honey-wine — the same root that gives us "methyl" through Greek méthu.

Meade

Irish

Two main origins: * A variant of Mead, a topographic or occupational surname. * Anglicized form of Irish Midheach, superseded spelling of Míoch (“Meathman, a native of Meath”).

meadow

Old English

From Old English mǣdwe, related to "mead" (as in the old word for a grassy field) and ultimately to an ancient root meaning "to mow or reap" — the same root behind the word "math" as in "aftermath" (literally a second mowing).

Meadows

Origin

Variant of Meadow, with the patronymic suffix -s.

meager

Latin

From Old French maigre, from Latin macer ("thin, lean") — the same root that gives us "emaciated".

meagre

Latin

From Middle French maigre, ultimately from Latin macer ("thin, lean").

meal

Old English

From Old English mǣl, originally meaning "measure" or "set time" before narrowing to "time for eating" and then "the food eaten at that time".

mealie

Origin

Borrowed from Afrikaans mielie, from obsolete Dutch milie (“millet, maize”), from Old French mil (“millet”).

mealtime

Old English

A straightforward compound of meal and time, going back to Old English mǣltīma.

mean

Old English

From Old English mǣnan ("to intend, complain"), related to the word "moan".

meander

Origin

From Latin Maeander, from Ancient Greek Μαίανδρος (Maíandros) – a river in Asia Minor (present day Turkey) known for its winding course (modern Turkish Menderes).

meandom

Origin

From mean + -dom.

meanie

Origin

From mean (unkind) plus the informal suffix -ie, in the same pattern as "sweetie" or "softie".

meaning

Middle English

From Middle English mening, built from mean plus the noun-forming suffix -ing.

meaningful

Origin

Formed from meaning plus the suffix -ful.

meaningless

Origin

From meaning plus the negating suffix -less.

meanling

Origin

From mean + -ling.

meanly

Origin

From Middle English meneli, meneliche, equivalent to mean + -ly.

meanness

Origin

From mean plus the noun suffix -ness.

means

French

From mean in the sense "method used to achieve a result" — compare French moyens.

meantime

Middle English

From Middle English menetime, a compound of mean ("intermediate") and time; the adverb comes from the phrase "in the meantime".

meanwhile

Middle English

From Middle English menewhile, a compound of mean ("intermediate") and while.

Mears

Old English

* As an English surname, variant of Mear, topographic surname for someone who lived by a pond, from Old English mere (“lake, pool”), or near a boundary, from ġemǣre (“boundary, border”). * As an Irish surname, from Ó Meidhir, from meidhir (“mirth”). Compare Myers.

measly

Origin

From measle (an old word for a skin blemish caused by measles or, in pigs, tapeworm cysts) plus -y; the sense shifted from "diseased/spotty" to "pathetically small".

measurable

Old French

From Old French mesurable, built from measure plus -able.

measure

Latin

From Old French mesure, from Latin mēnsūra ("a measuring"), from mētior ("to measure").