Etymology

-meal

Today it means: Used to denote a fixed number, measure, or amount at a time. Full definition →

Middle English -mele ← Old English -mǣlum ← Proto-Germanic *mēlamiz
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-meal · suffix1

  1. Proto-Germanic · derived from*mēlą“measure; time”
  2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*mēlamiz
  3. Old English · inherited from-mǣlum“at times”
  4. Middle English · inherited from-mele
  5. English today-meal

From Middle English -mele, from Old English -mǣlum (“at times”), from Proto-Germanic *mēlamiz, instrumental case of Proto-Germanic *mēlą (“measure; time”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian -moal, Dutch -maal, German Low German -maal, German -mal. More at meal.

-meal · suffix2

  1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*melh₂-“to grind, mill”
  2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*melwą“meal, flour”
  3. Old English · inherited frommelu“meal, flour”
  4. Middle English · inherited frommele
  5. English today-meal

From Middle English mele, from Old English melu (“meal, flour”), from Proto-Germanic *melwą (“meal, flour”), from Proto-Indo-European *melh₂- (“to grind, mill”). More at meal.

Words from the same roots

Proto-Germanic*mēlą all →

meal

Middle Englishmele all →

malemealmillman

Old Englishmelu all →

meal

Proto-Germanic*melwą all →

mealmellow

Proto-Indo-European*melh₂- all →

mealmildmullermellowmilletmaelstrommouldermullered

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.