English
minstrel
Minstrel comes from Anglo-Norman menestrel, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *mey- ‘to attach, bind, strengthen’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*mey-‘to attach, bind, strengthen’root as named · steps between not traced
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400menestrel
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500minstral
- Englishearliest quotation 1669minstrel
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*mey-‘to attach, bind, strengthen’root as named · steps between not traced
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400menestrel
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500minstral
- Englishearliest quotation 1669minstrel
Earliest quotation: 1669, William Gurnall, A Treatise: “Should a Minſtrel ſing to a ſweet tune with…”
The story
The noun is derived from Middle English minstral, menestrel (‘actor; juggler; mime; musician; singer; storyteller; (military) soldier playing a horn or trumpet as a signal’) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman menestrel [and other forms] and Old French menestrel (‘artisan; servant; itinerant musician or poet; worker’) [and other forms] (modern French ménestrel (‘minstrel’)), from Late Latin ministerialis (‘official or retainer owing household and military service to a feudal lord, a ministerial or ministerialis’), from Latin ministerium (‘employment, ministration; office of a minister, ministry; action or attendance by an inferior person such as a slave, service’) + -ālis (suffix forming adjectives). Ministerium is derived from minister (‘accomplice; agent; aide; attendant; servant; waiter’) (probably ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *mey-n- (‘little, small’) + *-yōs (“-er”, comparative suffix) + *-teros (contrastive or oppositional suffix forming adjectives)) + -ium (suffix forming abstract nouns).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *mey- ‘to attach, bind, strengthen’
mean, community, common, met, commission, communication, minute, mess, minister, meal, menu, mutual, communicate, minor, communist, immune, commit, compromise, missile, ministry, ammunition, immunity, mere, min, communism, municipality, communal, mole, dismiss, communion, minus, mural, ammo, premise, mayhem, noodle, moor, commune, remuneration, intermittent, 79 more
Today it means
noun Originally, an entertainer employed to juggle, play music, sing, tell stories, etc.; a buffoon, a fool, a jester; later, a medieval (especially travelling) entertainer who would recite and sing poetry, often to their own musical accompaniment.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *mey- / minstrel