Etymograph

English

madlad

Compound of mad + lad.

A compound of mad + lad

Proto-Indo-European *meyth₂- ‘to change’

…

Proto-Germanic *maidijaną ‘to change’

Old English *mǣdan

Old English ġemǣdan

Middle English mad

English mad

Old English *ladda

Middle English ladde ‘foot soldier, servant’

English lad

The story

The Reddit sense originates from the r/madlads subreddit, created on October 19, 2015.

Today it means

noun Someone (either male or of unspecified gender) who does something particularly impressive and audacious.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / madlad