Etymograph

English

mummy

Mummy comes from Persian مومیا ‘the substance with which mummies are preserved’, and goes back to موم ‘wax’.

  1. Persianc. 900–presentمومmum‘wax’
  2. Persian, derivedc. 900–presentمومیاmumyâ‘the substance with which mummies are preserved’
  3. Arabicc. 500–presentمُومِيَاءmūmiyāʔ
  4. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500mumia
  5. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600momie
  6. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400mumie
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500mummie
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1634mummy

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Persianc. 900–presentمومmum‘wax’
  2. Persian, derivedc. 900–presentمومیاmumyâ‘the substance with which mummies are preserved’
  3. Arabicc. 500–presentمُومِيَاءmūmiyāʔ
  4. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500mumia
  5. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600momie
  6. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400mumie
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500mummie
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1634mummy

Earliest quotation: 1634, Thomas Herbert, A Relation of Some Yeares Trauaile: “In or near this place is a precious liquor,…”

Every English word from Persian موم

Today it means

noun An embalmed human or non-human animal corpse wrapped in linen bandages for burial, especially as practised by the ancient Egyptians and some Native American tribes.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Persian موم / mummy

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