Etymograph

English

maisonette

Maisonette comes from French maisonnette ‘a low, small house’, from Latin mānsiōnem ‘abode, home, dwelling’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *men- ‘to stay, stand still’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*men-1‘to stay, stand still’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*m̥néh₁yeti1‘to remain’uncertain
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmaneō2‘remain, stay’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmānsiōnem2‘abode, home, dwelling’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400maisun2
  6. Frenchc. 1600–presentmaison3‘house’
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentmaisonnette4‘a low, small house’
  8. Englishtodaymaisonette4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin maneo, which cites Rix
  2. 2 Wiktionary, French maison
  3. 3 Wiktionary, French maisonnette
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English maisonette

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*men-Wiktionary, Latin maneo, which cites Rix‘to stay, stand still’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*m̥néh₁yetiWiktionary, Latin maneo, which cites Rix‘to remain’uncertain
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmaneōWiktionary, French maison‘remain, stay’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmānsiōnemWiktionary, French maison‘abode, home, dwelling’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400maisunWiktionary, French maison
  6. Frenchc. 1600–presentmaisonWiktionary, French maisonnette‘house’
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentmaisonnetteWiktionary, English maisonette‘a low, small house’
  8. EnglishtodaymaisonetteWiktionary, English maisonette

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *men- ‘to stay, stand still’

music, mind, money, amount, comment, mental, mouth, museum, mountain, mention, auto, mount, min, monitor, monster, demonstration, mentor, mint, dementia, monument, monk, maya, monetary, muse, menace, ming, imminent, amnesty, mosaic, prominence, eminent, summon, mandarin, monastery, mantra, monte, monstrous, mont, mania, muster, 114 more

through Latin maneō ‘remain, stay’

remain, permanent, mas, remnant, menagerie, menial, permanence, manet, permanency, 6 more

Today it means

noun A small house.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “maisonette”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin maneo, French maison, French maisonnette. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *men- / maisonette

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