English
ministry
Ministry comes from Middle English mynisterie, from Old French menistere, from Latin ministerium ‘office, service’, from minister ‘servant, attendant’.
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*minōs‘less’uncertain
- Proto-Italic, derivedc. 1500–700 BCE*minosteros‘lesser, smaller’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEminister‘attendant, servant’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEministerium‘office of a minister; service’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400menistere
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500mynisterie
- Englishtodayministry
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*minōs‘less’uncertain
- Proto-Italic, derivedc. 1500–700 BCE*minosteros‘lesser, smaller’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEminister‘attendant, servant’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEministerium‘office of a minister; service’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400menistere
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500mynisterie
- Englishtodayministry
Formed from minister + -y
Proto-Indo-European *mey- ‘small’
…
Latin minor ‘less’
Latin minister ‘an attendant’
Old French ministre
Middle English ministre ‘a person tasked with a duty or job’
English minister
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *mey- ‘to attach, bind, strengthen’
mean, common, community, met, commission, mess, communication, meal, mutual, immune, commit, mere, communicate, min, communist, compromise, missile, ammunition, immunity, communal, mole, municipality, minus, mural, ammo, communism, premise, dismiss, mayhem, communion, noodle, moor, commune, remuneration, intermittent, mite, omit, monolith, communiqué, meiosis, 74 more
through Proto-Italic *minuō ‘to lessen, make smaller’
minute, menu, minuet, minutia, 10 more
through Proto-Italic *minōs ‘less’
through Latin minister ‘attendant, servant, slave, waiter’
Today it means
noun A government department at the administrative level, normally headed by a minister (or equivalent rank, e.g. secretary of state), who holds it as portfolio, especially in a constitutional monarchy, but also as a polity.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Italic *minōs / ministry