*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of meu

From Latin mēum (“umbelliferous plant, Meum athamanticum”), from Ancient Greek μῆον (mêon), probably from μεῖον (meîon, “lesser”) for its small size. The English form came perhaps via Middle French meu, a word with a sin

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
noun

Meum athamanticum, a European herb.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Latin mēum (“umbelliferous plant, Meum athamanticum”), from Ancient Greek μῆον (mêon), probably from μεῖον (meîon, “lesser”) for its small size. The English form came perhaps via Middle French meu, a word with a single isolated attestation from the 14th century which only began to appear consistently from 1568, by which time the word was established in English.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Unspecified derivation mentionmēumla
  • Unspecified derivation mentionμῆονgrc
  • Unspecified derivation mentionmeufrm
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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    {
      "name": "uder",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "mēum",
        "4": "",
        "5": "umbelliferous plant, Meum athamanticum"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin mēum (“umbelliferous plant, Meum athamanticum”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "uder",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "grc",
        "3": "μῆον"
      },
      "expansion": "Ancient Greek μῆον (mêon)"
    },
    {
      "name": "uder",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "frm",
        "3": "meu"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle French meu"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "mēum",
      "meum#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "Meum athamanticum",
      "Meum athamanticum"
    ],
    [
      "μῆον",
      "μῆον#Ancient_Greek"
    ],
    [
      "μεῖον",
      "μεῖον#Ancient_Greek"
    ],
    [
      "meu",
      "meu#Middle_French"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Meum athamanticum, a European herb."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "uncountable"
      ],
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  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
noun

The second minister of the Kingdom of Dahomey.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Borrowed from Fon mɛ̀wú (“meu”).

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":bor",
        "3": "fon:mɛ̀wú<t:meu>",
        "text": "+",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "[Appendix:Glossary#loanword|Borrowed]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"gloss\" : \"meu\", \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Fon\", \"term\" : \"mɛ̀wú\", \"status\" : \"missing\", \"lang\" : \"fon\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"meu\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"meu\">\nBorrowed from Fon mɛ̀wú (“meu”)."
    },
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      "name": "ety",
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        "2": ":bor",
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      "expansion": "Borrowed from Fon mɛ̀wú (“meu”)."
    }
  ],
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    [
      "mɛ̀wú",
      "mɛ̀wú#Fon"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for meu →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-bWV1