"M" Word Origins

minstrel

Latin

From Old French menestrel ("entertainer, servant"), tracing back to Latin minister ("servant, attendant") — the same root as "minister."

mint

Latin

From Old English mynet ("coin"), from Latin moneta — named after the temple of Juno Moneta in Rome, where Roman coins were struck. The herb "mint" is an unrelated word from the same-sounding Old English minte.

minting

English

From mint, a place where money is coined, ultimately from Latin moneta, a title of the goddess Juno in whose temple Roman coins were struck; the blockchain sense borrows the metaphor of issuing new currency.

minuet

Latin

From French menuet, from menu ("small"), from Latin minutus ("very small") — a reference to the dance's small, dainty steps.

minus

Latin

From Latin minus, meaning "less," the neuter form of minor ("smaller").

minuscule

Latin

From Latin minusculus ("rather small"), from minus ("less").

minute

Medieval Latin

From Old French minute, from Medieval Latin minuta ("a small part, sixtieth"), tied to the same root as "minus."

minx

Dutch

PIE word *ǵʰmṓ The origin of the noun is uncertain. The following possible derivations have been suggested: * A variation of minikin (“(obsolete) young person, especially a young woman; small or insignificant person, thing, or amount”) + a variation of -s (suffix forming hypocoristic nouns (nicknames)) (compare minckins, a variant of minikin). * From Dutch mens, mensch (“human being, person; (derogatory, informal) woman”) (obsolete), Middle Dutch minsc, minsce, minsch; or from German Low German minsch, minsk, Middle Low German minsche (“hussy, wench”), all ultimately from Proto-Germanic *manniskaz (“human”, adjective), from *mann- (“human being, person; man”) (possibly from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰmṓ (“earthling”), *men- (“to mind; to think; spiritual activity”), or *mon- (“human being; man”)) + *-iskaz (suffix meaning ‘characteristic of, pertaining to’ forming adjectives). The verb is derived from the noun.

miny

Origin

Formed from mine (an excavation for extracting minerals) plus the adjective suffix -y, the same pattern as "rocky" from "rock."

mir

Russian

Borrowed from Russian мир (mir), a word that can mean "community," "world," or "peace" depending on context.

Mira

Latin · 1662

The star was named by astronomer Johannes Hevelius in 1662, from Latin mirus ("wonderful").

miracle

Latin

From Latin miraculum ("object of wonder"), from mirus ("wonderful, astonishing").

miraculous

Middle French

From Middle French miraculeux, from the same root as "miracle."

mirage

French · 1800

Borrowed directly from French mirage in the early 1800s, from mirer ("to look at, reflect").

Miramar

Spanish

From Spanish and Portuguese, literally "looks at the sea."

Miranda

Origin · 1966

From the 1966 US Supreme Court case Miranda v. Arizona, which established the requirement.

mire

Old English

From Old Norse mýrr ("bog, swamp"), related to Old English mos, the source of "moss."

mired

Origin

From micro reciprocal degree.

Miriam

Hebrew

From Hebrew מִרְיָם (Miryam), possibly linked to a root meaning "bitter" — the same Old Testament name that became "Mary" in English.

mirin

Origin

Borrowed from Japanese 味醂 (mirin).

mirkning

Origin

From Scots mirken (“to grow dark, darken, become overcast”), from Old Norse myrkna (“dark, gloomy”) + -ing (noun-forming suffix), equivalent to mirken + -ing.

miro

Origin

Borrowed from Māori miro, the name of the tree.

mirror

Latin

From Old French mireor ("mirror," literally "one who looks"), from Latin mīror ("to wonder at").

mirrored

Origin

From mirror (verb) + -ed (suffix forming past tenses).

mirrorless

Origin

From mirror + -less.

mirrory

Origin

From mirror + -y.

mirth

Old English

From Old English myrgþ ("mirth, joy"), related to "merry."

mirthless

Origin

From Middle English myrtheles, equivalent to mirth + -less.

mirza

Persian

From Persian میرزا (mirzâ).

Mis

Dutch

Various origins: * Borrowed from Polish Miś, a pet form of Michał or a nickname from miś (“bear”). * Borrowed from Slovene Miš, a nickname from miš (“mouse”). * Borrowed from Dutch Mis, a reduced form of the personal name Amijs. * Borrowed from Yucatec Maya Mis; this surname is predominantly found in Yucatán.

misadventure

Old French

From Old French mesaventure, combining mis- ("wrongly") with "adventure."

Misako

Japanese

From Japanese Misako.

misandry

Origin

Formed in the late 19th century as mis- (“hatred”) + -andry (“men”) by analogy with misogyny; compare the Ancient Greek μισανδρία (misandría), from μισέω (miséō, “hate”) + ἀνήρ (anḗr, “man”).

misanthropy

Origin

From Ancient Greek μισανθρωπία (misanthrōpía), from μισάνθρωπος (misánthrōpos), from μῖσος (mîsos, “hatred”) + ἄνθρωπος (ánthrōpos, “human”). The word is analysable as miso- + -anthropy.

misappropriator

Origin

From misappropriate + -or.

Misato

Japanese

From Japanese Misato.

misbalance

Origin

From mis- + balance.

misbehave

Middle English

From Middle English misbehaven, simply mis- (\"wrongly\") added to behave.

misbehaving

Middle English

The -ing form of misbehave, from Middle English mis- + behave.

misbid

Origin

From the fusion of Middle English misbidden (to mistreat; equivalent to mis- + bid) and Middle English misbeden (“to mistreat; abuse; outrage; offend; insult”), from Old English misbēodan (“to ill-use, injure, do wrong to, announce wrongly”), equivalent to mis- + bid (“to offer, declare”).

miscalculation

Origin

Built from mis- (\"wrongly\") plus calculation.

miscarriage

Origin

From mis- + carriage — literally a "wrong carrying," first applied to failed plans and later specifically to lost pregnancies.

Miscavige

Polish

Americanized spelling of Polish Myszkiewicz.

miscellanea

Origin

Borrowed from Latin miscellānea, neuter plural of miscellāneus, from miscellus (“mixed”), from misceō (“to mix”).

miscellaneous

Latin

From Latin miscellaneus, based on miscellus (\"mixed\"), from miscere (\"to mix\").

miscellany

Origin

Borrowed from French miscellanées, from Latin mīscellānea, from miscellus (“mixed”), from misceō (“to mix”).

mischance

Origin

From Anglo-Norman meschance, Old French meschance, meschaunce.

mischief

Latin

From Old French meschief, "misfortune," from mes- (\"badly\") + chever (\"to come to a head\"), ultimately tracing back to Latin caput, "head."