Trade, money & letters

macabre

Macabre comes from the medieval French Danse Macabré, the Dance of Death, usually traced to the martyred Maccabees of the Bible. The link is likely but unproven, and an Arabic 'cemeteries' origin has also been suggested; Lydgate brought the dance into Middle English, and modern French macabre spread to Spanish, German, Italian and Polish.

Weakest linkPossible

The road to English

From Middle French to Middle English

From French to Spanish

From French to Italian

From French to German

From French to Polish

100 BCEKoine Greek

Hops are evenly spaced; labels show the year each form is first attested.

macabre

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The road to English

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