English
mullet
Mullet comes from Old French mulet ‘mullet (fish)’, from Ancient Greek μέλας ‘dark in color’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *melh₂-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*melh₂-1‘dark, black’uncertain
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*mélans1‘black’uncertain
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEμέλας2mélas‘dark in color’uncertain
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEμύλλος3múllos‘a kind of fish brought salted from the Black Sea’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmullus3‘red mullet’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400mulet3‘mullet (fish)’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500molet3
- Englishtodaymullet3
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek μέλας
- 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek μύλλος
- 3 Wiktionary, English mullet
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*melh₂-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek μέλας‘dark, black’uncertain
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*mélansWiktionary, Ancient Greek μέλας‘black’uncertain
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEμέλαςWiktionary, Ancient Greek μύλλοςmélas‘dark in color’uncertain
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEμύλλοςWiktionary, English mulletmúllos‘a kind of fish brought salted from the Black Sea’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmullusWiktionary, English mullet‘red mullet’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400muletWiktionary, English mullet‘mullet (fish)’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500moletWiktionary, English mullet
- EnglishtodaymulletWiktionary, English mullet
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *melh₂- ‘dark, black’
meal, mild, mill, mold, mole, mould, camo, bonanza, molar, amalgam, maelstrom, martel, moline, moulin, malleable, malm, amulet, amyl, 41 more
through Ancient Greek μέλας ‘dark in color’
through Latin mullus ‘red mullet’
Another origin of mullet
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400molette‘rowel’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500molet
- Englishtodaymullet
Today it means
noun A fish of the family Mullidae (order Syngnathiformes).
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “mullet”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek μέλας, Ancient Greek μύλλος. 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 *melh₂- / mullet