Where does “Hollywood” come from?
Hollywood derives from English wood, which comes from Middle English wood, Old English wudu, and ultimately Proto-Indo-European widʰu- meaning tree or wood.
Hollywood (English): Resembling or relating to the Hollywood movie...
Definitions
- Resembling or relating to the Hollywood movie...
Ancestry of “Hollywood”, step by step
Hollywood traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English Wood
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Wood | An English topographic surname for someone who lived in or near a wood |
| 2 | English | Frog | Alternative form of frog |
| 3 | Portuguese | froco | flock |
| 4 | Latin | floccus | tuft, wisp of wool |
| 5 | Frankish | flokko | down, wool, flock |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | *flukkô | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | plewk- | to fly, flow, run; to splash, to flap with hands |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | plew- | to fly, flow, run |
via English Holly
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Holly | Any of various shrubs or (mostly) small trees, of the genus Ilex, either evergreen or deciduous, used as decoration especially at Christmas |
| 2 | Middle English | holly | Alternative form of holy |
| 3 | Old English | holeġn | — |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | hulis | holly |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | kel- | to hit; beat; to pierce, to stab; goblet |