Etymograph

English

mickle

Mickle comes from Middle English mickle ‘much’, from Old English miċel ‘big, large’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *méǵh₂s.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*méǵh₂s‘big, great’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*mikilaz‘great, large’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*mikilreconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150miċel‘big, large’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500mickle‘much’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1576same form

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*méǵh₂s‘big, great’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*mikilaz‘great, large’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*mikilreconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150miċel‘big, large’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500mickle‘much’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1576same form

Earliest quotation: 1576, Iohannes Caius [i.e., To the Reader: “Neurthelesse little or mickle, something or nothing, substaunce or…”

The story

The word is cognate with Faroese mikil (‘large, great, much’), Icelandic mikill (‘large in quantity or number; much; great’), Middle High German michel (‘large, much’). For the adverb and noun forms, compare Middle English muchel (“extensively, greatly, much”, adverb) and Middle English muchel (“large amount”, noun).

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *méǵh₂s ‘big, great’

major, master, mayor, magnitude, magnum, maxim, magnate, magnify, maggiore, mahila, 16 more

through Proto-Germanic *mikilaz ‘great, large’

mair

through Proto-West Germanic *mikil

much, muckle

Today it means

adj (Very) great or large.

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

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *méǵh₂s / mickle

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