Mahl
East Central German
Etymology
From Middle High German mel (genitive melwes), from Old High German melo, from Proto-West Germanic *melu. Cognate with Dutch meel, English meal (“flour”).
Noun
Mahl n
- (Erzgebirgisch) flour; meal (ground cereal)
- (Erzgebirgisch) powder; dust (any result of grinding)
Further reading
- 2020 June 11, Hendrik Heidler, Hendrik Heidler's 400 Seiten: Echtes Erzgebirgisch: Wuu de Hasen Hoosn haaßn un de Hosen Huusn do sei mir drhamm: Das Original Wörterbuch: Ratgeber und Fundgrube der erzgebirgischen Mund- und Lebensart: Erzgebirgisch – Deutsch / Deutsch – Erzgebirgisch, 3. geänderte Auflage edition, Norderstedt: BoD – Books on Demand, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 83:
German
Etymology 1
The same word as Mal (“time”), from Middle High German māl, from Old High German māl, from Proto-West Germanic *māl.
The sense “meal” developed from “mealtime” as also in cognate English meal. Further cognate with Dutch maal, Danish mål (“goal”).
The orthographic distinction from Mal began in Early Modern German, probably in part under influence of etymology 2 below, which was then becoming obsolete. Later grammarians, at any rate, were in doubt about which of the two was the origin of the word for “meal”.
Declension
Derived terms
Etymology 2
From Middle High German mahel, from Old High German mahal, from Proto-West Germanic *maþl, from Proto-Germanic *maþlą, *mahlą. Cognate with Danish mål (“language”), Icelandic mál.