"M" Word Origins

misunderstanding

Origin

From misunderstand plus the noun-forming suffix -ing.

misunion

Origin

From mis- + union.

misuse

Origin

From mis- ("wrongly") plus use.

misuser

Origin

* from misuse + -er

mitch

Middle English

From Middle English mychen, "to steal or skulk," related to the word mooch.

mitchell

Origin

From a Middle English vernacular form of the Old French given name Michel (“Michael”), or in some cases from a Middle English nickname muchel (“big”).

mite

Old English

From Old English mīte, "tiny insect," from a root meaning "to cut" — the idea of something cut very small.

mitigate

Latin

From Latin mitigare, "to soften or make gentle," from mitis, "mild."

mitigation

Latin

From Latin mitigatio, from mitigare, "to soften."

mito

Origin

A shortening of "mitochondrial."

mitochondria

Greek

From Greek mitos 'thread' plus khondrion 'little granule', describing their appearance under early microscopes.

mitochondrial

Origin

From mitochondria plus the adjective-forming suffix -al.

mitosis

Greek

From Greek mitos, meaning 'thread', with the suffix -osis, after the thread-like appearance of the chromosomes during division.

mitra

Sanskrit

From Sanskrit mitra, meaning "friend."

mitral

Origin

From "mitre" (a bishop's pointed ceremonial hat) plus the adjective ending "-al" — the heart valve was named for its similar two-flapped shape.

mitre

Origin

From Middle English mytre, from Old French mitre, from Ancient Greek μίτρα (mítra, “headband, turban”). Its use in reference to a counterfeit coin derived from the bishop's mitre stamped upon it. Doublet of Mithras, Mithra, Mitra, and Mehr.

Mitsubishi

Japanese

From Japanese 三菱 (Mitsubishi), literally "three diamonds," referencing the company's three-diamond logo.

mitt

Origin

A shortened form of "mitten."

mitten

Old French

From Middle English "myteyne," borrowed from Old French "mitaine," of uncertain origin — possibly linked to a word for "cat" (playfully comparing the shape to a cat's paw) or to a Germanic word meaning "middle/half."

Mittens

Origin

From mittens, describing a cat's differently colored paws.

Mitzi

German · 1900

Borrowed from German Mitzi in the twentieth century.

mitzvah

Hebrew

Borrowed from Hebrew מצווה (mitsvá), meaning "a commandment."

Miura

Japanese

From Japanese Miura, meaning "three coves."

mix

Latin

From Old English "miscian," from a Proto-Germanic root meaning "to mix," ultimately related to Latin "misceo" (the source of "mixture" and "miscellaneous").

mixed

Latin

The past-participle adjective form of "mix," reinforced over time by the related French "mixte" and Latin "mixtus."

Mixer

Origin

Formed from "mix" plus the agent suffix "-er," originally meaning simply "one that mixes."

mixling

Origin

From mix + -ling. Compare German Mischling (“hybrid, mongrel, half-breed”), French mélange (“mixture”), German Low German Mischling (“half-breed, hybrid, mongrel”).

mixology

Origin

Back-formation from mixologist. By surface analysis, mix + -ology.

mixture

Latin

From Old French "misture," from Latin "mixtura," meaning "a mixing" — from the verb "miscere," "to mix."

miya

Japanese

From Japanese 宮 (miya), meaning "shrine" or "palace."

Miyagi

Japanese

From Japanese Miyagi.

Miyako

Japanese

From Japanese 宮古島 (miyako-jima).

Miyamoto

Japanese

From Japanese Miyamoto, meaning "base of the shrine."

Miyazaki

Japanese

From Japanese Miyazaki.

Miyuki

Japanese

From Japanese Miyuki.

Mizuno

Japanese

Borrowed from Japanese 水野 (Mizuno).

mizzle

Origin

From Late Middle English misellen (“to drizzle”), cognate with Low German miseln, musseln (“to mizzle”), Dutch miezelen (“to drizzle, rain gently”). Of obscure origin, possibly a frequentative related to the base of mist; or, related to Middle Low German mes (“urine”), Middle Dutch mes, mis (“urine”), both from Old Saxon mehs (“urine”), from Proto-Germanic *mihstuz, *mihstaz, *mihsk- (“urine”), from *mīganą (“to urinate”), from Proto-Indo-European *meiǵʰ-, *omeiǵʰ- (“to urinate”). Compare also English micturate (“to urinate”), Old Frisian mese (“urine”), Low German miegen (“to urinate”), Dutch mijgen (“to urinate”), Danish mige (“to urinate”).

ml

English

In the volume sense, an abbreviation of millilitre; in the computing sense, an initialism of machine learning.

mmm

Origin

An imitative (onomatopoeic) sound made with the mouth closed.

MMS

Origin

An abbreviation of "Multimedia Messaging Service."

mneme

Origin

Borrowed from German Mneme which was coined by German evolutionary biologist Richard Semon in 1904 from Ancient Greek μνήμη (mnḗmē). First attested in English in 1921 where it was capitalized Mneme.

mnemonic

Ancient Greek

Borrowed from Ancient Greek "mnēmonikós" ("of memory"), from "mnḗmōn" ("mindful"), ultimately from a root meaning "to think" or "to remember."

mnemosyne

Origin

Borrowed from Ancient Greek Μνημοσύνη (Mnēmosúnē).

mnemotechnic

Origin

From mnemo- + technic.

mnemotechnist

Origin

From mnemotechny + -ist.

Mo

Chinese

Transliteration of Chinese 莫 (mò).

moai

Origin

Borrowed directly from the Rapa Nui word "mo'ai," meaning "statue" or "figurine."

moan

Old English

From Middle English "mone," from Old English roots meaning "complaint" or "lamentation."