Where does “ferning” come from?

ferning (English) comes from English fern, from Middle English fern, from Old English fearn, from Proto-West Germanic farn, from Proto-Indo-European pornóm, from Proto-Indo-European per-, from Proto-Indo-European pr̥tós — passed , crossed.

ferning (English): A characteristic fern-like pattern on a slide...

Definitions

  1. A characteristic fern-like pattern on a slide...

Ancestry of “ferning”, step by step

ferning traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English fern

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishfernAny of a group of some twenty thousand species of...
2Middle Englishfernfern plant of the division
3Old Englishfearnfern
4Proto-West Germanicfarnfern
5Proto-Indo-Europeanpornómfeather, wing; fern, leaf
6Proto-Indo-Europeanper-before, in front; first; to go through
7Proto-Indo-Europeanpr̥tóspassed , crossed

via English ing

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishingA meadow, especially a low meadow near a river;...
2Middle Englishing
3Old Englishingmeadow, water meadow, ing
4Old Norseengmeadow
5Proto-GermanicangijōA low lying meadow in a valley or near a river
6Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂énkoscurve, bend
7Proto-Indo-European-osCreates action nouns or result nouns from verbs;...
Every word from Proto-Indo-European pr̥tós