English
ming
Ming comes from Old English mengan ‘to mix, combine, unite, associate with,…’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *menk- ‘to rumple, knead’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*menk-‘to rumple, knead’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*mangijan‘to mix, knead’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150mengan‘to mix, combine, unite, associate with, consort, cohabit with, disturb, converse’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500mingen
- Englishearliest quotation 1562ming
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*menk-‘to rumple, knead’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*mangijan‘to mix, knead’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150mengan‘to mix, combine, unite, associate with, consort, cohabit with, disturb, converse’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500mingen
- Englishearliest quotation 1562ming
Earliest quotation: 1562, William Turner: “I founde here and there litle peces of marquesites…”
Linked words
through Old English mengan ‘to mix, combine, unite, associate with,…’
Another origin of ming
- Chinesemodern命mìng‘destiny, fate’
- Englishtodayming
Today it means
verb To mix, blend, mingle.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *menk- / ming