Where does “eggplant” come from?
eggplant (English) comes from English plant, from Middle English plante, from Old English plante, from Proto-West Germanic *plantu, from Latin planta, from Proto-Italic plāntā, from Proto-Indo-European pléh₂-n̥t-eh₂, from Proto-Indo-European pleh₂- — flat.
eggplant (English): The plant "Solanum melongena"; The edible fruit...
Definitions
- The plant "Solanum melongena"; The edible fruit...
Ancestry of “eggplant”, step by step
eggplant traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English plant
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | plant | An organism that is not an animal, especially an... |
| 2 | Middle English | plante | — |
| 3 | Old English | plante | plant, shoot |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | *plantu | plant, shoot |
| 5 | Latin | planta | any vegetable production that serves to propagate... |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | plāntā | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | pléh₂-n̥t-eh₂ | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | pleh₂- | flat |
via English egg
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | egg | An approximately spherical or ellipsoidal body... |
| 2 | Middle English | eggen | To egg on; to encourage or provide motivation; To... |
| 3 | Old Saxon | eggian | to harrow |
| 4 | Old Norse | eggja | to incite, egg on to do |
| 5 | Old Norse | egg | egg; edge |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | agjō | edge, corner |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂eḱ- | sharp |