Where does “brittlebush” come from?
brittlebush (English) comes from English brittle, from English -le, from Middle English -el, from Old French -el, from Latin -ellus, from Latin -ulus, from Proto-Italic -olos, from Proto-Italic -elos — Forms agent nouns from verbal roots.
brittlebush (English): A shrub native to deserts in the southwestern US...
Definitions
- A shrub native to deserts in the southwestern US...
Ancestry of “brittlebush”, step by step
brittlebush traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English brittle
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | brittle | Inflexible, liable to break or snap easily under... |
| 2 | English | -le | A frequentative suffix of verbs, indicating... |
| 3 | Middle English | -el | — |
| 4 | Old French | -el | Suffix that usually denotes a masculine noun |
| 5 | Latin | -ellus | Alternative form of -ulus; "forming masculine... |
| 6 | Latin | -ulus | Used to form a diminutive of a noun, indicating... |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | -olos | — |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | -elos | Forms desubstantival and deadjectival diminutive nouns |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -e-lós | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | -lós | Forms agent nouns from verbal roots |
via English Bush
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Bush | A place name |
| 2 | Middle English | bush | grove, wood; thicket, underbrush; bush; branch of... |
| 3 | Old English | busċ | — |
| 4 | Latin | bosca | firewood |
| 5 | Late Latin | busca | — |
| 6 | Proto-West Germanic | busk | bush, thicket |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | buskaz | bush; thicket |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰuH- | to become, grow, appear |