English
minimum
Minimum is borrowed from Latin minimum, neuter of minimus ‘least, smallest’, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *mey- ‘small’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*mey-‘small, little’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEminimus‘least, smallest’
- Englishearliest quotation 2021minimum
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*mey-‘small, little’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEminimus‘least, smallest’
- Englishearliest quotation 2021minimum
Earliest quotation: 2021, Judy Berman: “Realism might be the hardest aesthetic to do well.…”
Every English word from Proto-Indo-European *mey-
Today it means
noun The lowest limit.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *mey- / minimum