Where does “boxwood” come from?
Boxwood comes from English box, from Latin buxus, from Ancient Greek πύξος, a type of tree yielding hard wood used for boxes and ornamental objects.
boxwood (English): The box tree, "Buxus sempervirens"; The hard,...
Definitions
- The box tree, "Buxus sempervirens"; The hard,...
Ancestry of “boxwood”, step by step
boxwood traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English box
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | box | Senses relating to a three-dimensional object or... |
| 2 | French | boxer | boxer; boxer shorts, boxers; to box |
| 3 | French | -er | Forms infinitives of first-conjugation verbs |
| 4 | English | -er | A person or thing that does an action indicated... |
| 5 | Middle English | -er | agentive suffix; agent noun suffix |
| 6 | Old French | -er | Alternative form of -ier, verbal suffix;... |
| 7 | Latin | -āre | first conjugation |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | -āō | Forms primarily denominative verbs |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -eh₂yéti | Creates iterative/ frequentative/ intensive... |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | -yéti | Creates intransitive, often deponent,... |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | yé- | — |
| 12 | Chichewa | iye | he, she |
via English wood
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | wood | The substance making up the central part of the... |
| 2 | Middle English | wode | madness, insanity, an overmastering emotion,... |
| 3 | Old English | wudu | wood; forest, woods; tree |
| 4 | Old English | widu | wood, forest, grove; tree; timber |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | widuz | wood |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | widʰu- | forest, wood; tree, beam |