Where does “curled octopus” come from?

curled octopus (English) comes from English octopus, from Latin octopūs, from Ancient Greek ὀκτώπους, from Ancient Greek πούς, from Proto-Indo-European pṓds, from Proto-Indo-European póds, from Proto-Indo-European ped- — to walk, to step; to stumble, to fall.

curled octopus (English): A common European species of octopus (Eledone cirrhosa) whose tentacles are usually kept curled

Definitions

  1. A common European species of octopus (Eledone cirrhosa) whose tentacles are usually kept curled

Ancestry of “curled octopus”, step by step

curled octopus traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English octopus

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishoctopusAny of several marine molluscs of the family...
2Latinoctopūsoctopus
3Ancient Greekὀκτώπουςeight-footed; octopus
4Ancient Greekπούςfoot; leg; Greek foot or pous, the ancient Greek...
5Proto-Indo-Europeanpṓdsfoot
6Proto-Indo-Europeanpódsfoot
7Proto-Indo-Europeanped-to walk, to step; to stumble, to fall

via English curled

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Englishcurledsimple past tense and past participle of curl
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ped-Every word from Proto-Indo-European pódsEvery word from Proto-Indo-European pṓds