"M" Word Origins

meiosis

Greek

From Greek meiosis 'a lessening', from meioun 'to make smaller'.

Meir

Old English

Perhaps from Old English mere (“pool, lake”), similar to the surname Mears.

Meisner

German

Borrowed from German Meisner.

meister

Latin

Borrowed from German Meister ("master"), from Latin magister — making it a doublet of "master," "mister," and "maestro."

Mekong

Origin

From Thai, a contraction of a phrase meaning "mother river."

mel

Origin

The pitch-unit sense comes from a shortening of "melody"; the name is a diminutive of longer names like Melanie or Melvin.

melancholia

Origin

From Late Latin melancholia, which was in turn borrowed from the Ancient Greek medical term μελαγχολία (melankholía, “blackness of the bile”) (from μέλας (mélas), μελαν- (melan-, “black, dark, murky”) + χολή (kholḗ, “bile”)), referring to the humour which ancient Hippocratic and later Galenic medicine associated with sadness and despondency. Doublet of melancholy.

melancholic

Greek

From Greek melankholikos, describing someone with a melancholic temperament — traditionally blamed on an excess of "black bile."

melancholy

Greek

From Greek melankholia ("black bile") — ancient medicine believed an excess of this bodily humor caused sadness and gloom.

melange

Origin

From French mélange, from Middle French mélange, meslange, from Old French meslance, meslinges (“set of diverse elements”), derived from mescler (“to mingle, mix up”) (modern French mêler), from Vulgar Latin *misculāre, from Latin misceō (“mix”) + -inges, a suffix from Frankish *-ingo (“-ing”). More at mix, -ing.

Melanie

Greek

From Greek melas, meaning "black" or "dark."

melanin

Greek

From Greek melas, melan- 'black', with the chemical suffix -in.

melanoid

Origin

From melano- + -oid.

melanoma

Origin

From "melano-" (dark, black) plus the medical suffix "-oma" (tumor).

melba

Origin

Named after Nellie Melba, an Australian opera singer, for whom the dish "Peach Melba" was created.

Melbourne

Old English

Named after the 2nd Viscount Melbourne, whose title comes from a town in Derbyshire, England, itself from Old English words for "mill" and "stream."

meld

Origin

Probably a blend of "melt" and "weld," describing things fusing together into one.

melee

Latin

Borrowed from French mêlée, from Old French mesler ("to mix") — related to Latin misceo, "to mix," making it a doublet of "medley."

Melinda

Origin

Coined in the eighteenth century from names such as Melanie and Melissa + -inda.

meline

Origin

From Latin mēlīnus.

meliorate

Origin

First attested in 1542; borrowed from Late Latin meliorātus, perfect passive participle of meliorō (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from melior (“better”).

melioration

Origin

From Latin meliōrātiō.

meliorist

Origin

From Latin melior (“better”) and English -ist. Reportedly coined by British author George Eliot in her letters, published in 1877.

melissa

Ancient Greek

From Ancient Greek melissa, meaning "bee" — the herb was named for how strongly it attracts bees.

mellitus

Latin

From Latin mellitus 'sweetened with honey', from mel 'honey'.

Mello

Italian

Borrowed from Italian and Portuguese Mello.

mellon

Origin

An arbitrary coinage, formed by analogy with chemical names ending in -one.

mellow

Old English

From Middle English melowe ("ripe, soft, juicy"), likely tracing back to Old English words for ground grain or for something soft and tender — the exact root is debated by etymologists.

melodeon

Origin

From French mélodium, with change of ending.

melodic

French

Borrowed from French mélodique, itself built from melody.

melodious

Middle French

From Middle English melodious, via Middle French, ultimately built on the same root as melody.

melodrama

French

From French mélodrame, ultimately from Greek melos ("song") plus drama — originally a stage drama with musical accompaniment at emotional moments.

melodramatic

Origin

Built from melodrama plus the suffix -tic, on the pattern of "dramatic."

melody

Latin

From Old French melodie, from Latin melodia, from Greek melōidia ("singing"), built from melos ("tune") and aoide ("song").

melon

Latin

From Old French melon, from Latin melopeponem, from Greek mēlopepōn — literally "apple-shaped ripe fruit."

melos

Origin

From Ancient Greek μέλος (mélos).

melrose

Latin

From Latin mel ("honey") and rosa ("rose").

melt

Old English

From Old English meltan and mieltan, both meaning "to melt," going back to a Proto-Germanic root shared with words for digesting — melting and digesting were once seen as the same kind of "breaking down."

meltdown

Origin

A compound of melt and down, first used literally for reactors before spreading to financial and emotional crises.

melting pot

Origin

Popularized by the British author Israel Zangwill in his play The Melting Pot (1908).

melton

Origin

Named after Melton Mowbray, the English town where the fabric was originally produced.

Melvin

Latin

Variant of the Scottish surname Melville, from a place name Malleville in Normandy, from Latin mala (“bad”) + Old French ville (“settlement”). * Used to Anglicize Mac Gille Beathain in Scotland and Ó Maoil Mhín in Ireland.

mem

Origin

From Phoenician mem, originally meaning "water" — the letter shape is thought to derive from a stylised drawing of waves.

member

Latin

From Old French membre, from Latin membrum ("limb, body part").

membership

Origin

From member plus the suffix -ship.

membrane

Latin

From Latin membrana ("skin covering a body part"), from membrum ("limb, body part").

meme

Greek · 1976

Coined in 1976 by biologist Richard Dawkins, shortened from "mimeme" (built on Greek roots for "imitation") to echo the word "gene." The internet sense developed decades later.

memecoin

English

A compound of meme and coin.