English
mignonette
Mignonette comes from French mignonnette ‘miniature’, from mignon ‘dainty’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *men- ‘to think’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*men-‘to think’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*minjō‘affectionate thought, care’reconstructed
- Frankishc. 250–700*minnju‘love, friendship, affection, memory’reconstructed
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400mignon‘dainty, pleasing, gentle, kind’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600same form
- Frenchc. 1600–presentsame form‘dainty’
- French, derivedc. 1600–presentmignonnette‘miniature’
- Englishearliest quotation 1834mignonette
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*men-‘to think’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*minjō‘affectionate thought, care’reconstructed
- Frankishc. 250–700*minnju‘love, friendship, affection, memory’reconstructed
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400mignon‘dainty, pleasing, gentle, kind’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600same form
- Frenchc. 1600–presentsame form‘dainty’
- French, derivedc. 1600–presentmignonnette‘miniature’
- Englishearliest quotation 1834mignonette
Earliest quotation: 1834, Letitia Elizabeth Landon, London: Richard Bentley: “After amusing herself for a brief time with picking…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *men- ‘to think’
music, money, mind, amount, comment, mental, mouth, remain, mountain, museum, mention, auto, mount, permanent, monitor, min, monster, demonstration, mentor, maya, dementia, monument, monk, mint, monetary, muse, mosaic, menace, mas, mandarin, mantra, amnesty, mania, summon, imminent, monastery, ming, monte, manic, remnant, 126 more
through Middle French mignon
Today it means
noun A plant, Reseda odorata, having greyish-green flowers with orange-coloured stamens, and exhaling a delicious fragrance. In Africa it is a low shrub, but further north it is usually an annual herb.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *men- / mignonette