Where does “asparagus” come from?

Asparagus comes from Latin sparagus, from Ancient Greek ἀσπάραγος, a variant of ἀσφάραγος, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European (s)pregʰ.

asparagus (English): Any of various perennial plants of the genus...

Definitions

  1. Any of various perennial plants of the genus...

Ancestry of “asparagus”, step by step

asparagus traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Latin sparagus

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinsparagus—
2Ancient Greekἀσπάραγοςasparagus; young shoots
3Ancient Greekἀσφάραγοςthroat, gullet; asparagus; shoots of other plants
4Proto-Indo-European(s)pregʰto jerk, to scatter

via Medieval Latin asparagus

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Medieval Latinasparagusasparagus; shoot, sprout-like asparagus, samphire
Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)pregʰ →Every word from Ancient Greek ἀσφάραγος →Every word from Ancient Greek ἀσπάραγος →