English
menu
Menu comes from French menu ‘slim, small, fine’, from Latin minūtus ‘minute, tiny’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *mey- ‘small, little’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*mey-‘small, little’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*minuō‘to lessen, make smaller’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEminuō‘diminish’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEminūtus‘minute, tiny’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400menu‘small’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600menu‘small’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentmenu‘slim, small, fine’
- Englishearliest quotation 1991menu
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*mey-‘small, little’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*minuō‘to lessen, make smaller’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEminuō‘diminish’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEminūtus‘minute, tiny’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400menu‘small’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600menu‘small’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentmenu‘slim, small, fine’
- Englishearliest quotation 1991menu
Earliest quotation: 1991, Food Management: “He created this prize-winning dish last December, to serve…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *mey- ‘small, little’
community, common, mean, commission, communication, met, min, commit, communist, mutual, communicate, mess, compromise, immune, missile, meal, ammunition, immunity, dismiss, premise, communism, mere, municipality, communal, mole, minus, communion, mural, ammo, mayhem, noodle, moor, commune, remuneration, intermittent, mite, omit, monolith, minstrel, mitra, 73 more
through Proto-Italic *minuō ‘to lessen, make smaller’
minister, ministry, minor, 9 more
through Latin minūtus ‘minute, tiny’
through French menu ‘slim, small, fine’
Today it means
noun The details of the food to be served at a banquet; a bill of fare.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *mey- / menu