Where does “fernseed” come from?
fernseed (English) comes from English seed, from English See, from Middle English seen, from Old English sēon, from Proto-West Germanic sehwan, from Proto-Germanic sehwaną, from Proto-Indo-European sekʷ- — to follow; to see; to say.
fernseed (English): The spores of ferns, once believed to have magical properties when properly gathered
Definitions
- The spores of ferns, once believed to have magical properties when properly gathered
Ancestry of “fernseed”, step by step
fernseed traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English seed
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | seed | A fertilized and ripened ovule, containing an... |
| 2 | English | See | — |
| 3 | Middle English | seen | to see |
| 4 | Old English | sēon | to be; to filter; to see, look, behold, perceive,... |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | sehwan | to see |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | sehwaną | to see |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | sekʷ- | to follow; to see; to say |
via English fern
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | fern | Any of a group of some twenty thousand species of... |
| 2 | Middle English | fern | fern plant of the division |
| 3 | Old English | fearn | fern |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | farn | fern |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | pornóm | feather, wing; fern, leaf |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | per- | before, in front; first; to go through |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | pr̥tós | passed , crossed |