Where does “Ivy” come from?

Ivy derives from Middle English ivi, Old English īfiġ, Proto-Germanic ibahs, and Proto-Indo-European (h₁)ebʰ-, with the ultimate root sense relating to growth or climbing.

Ivy (English): A university that is part of the Ivy League

Definitions

  1. A university that is part of the Ivy League

Ancestry of “Ivy”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishiviivy
2Old Englishīfiġivy
3Tagalogibigliking
4Proto-Germanicibahsivy
5Proto-Indo-European(h₁)ebʰ-climbing

Words derived from “Ivy”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European (h₁)ebʰ- →Every word from Proto-Germanic ibahs →Every word from Tagalog ibig →