Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “columbine” come from?

Columbine comes from Old French columbin, from Latin columbinus meaning "of doves," derived from Latin columbus "dove" and the Latin suffix -inus, ultimately from Ancient Greek κόλυμβος related to κολυμβάω "to dive."

columbine (English): Any plant of the genus "Aquilegia", having...

Definitions

  1. Any plant of the genus "Aquilegia", having...

Ancestry of “columbine”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishcolumbyne—
2Old Frenchcolumbin—
3LatincolumbinusOf or pertaining to a dove or pigeon; dovish,...
4Latin-īnus—
5Proto-Italic-īnosof/belonging to
6Proto-Indo-European-iHnosCreates adjectives of materials
7Proto-Indo-European-no-adjectival suffix

Words derived from “columbine”

  • columbinic
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -no- →