Where does “fig tree” come from?

fig tree (English) comes from Middle English figge tre, from Middle English tre, from Middle English plumtre, from Old English plumtreow, from Old English trēow, from Proto-West Germanic treu, from Proto-Germanic trewą, from English doru — hard, firm, strong, solid; hard, fast; tree.

fig tree (English): Any tree that bears figs

Definitions

  1. Any tree that bears figs

Ancestry of “fig tree”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishfigge treA fig tree
2Middle EnglishtreA tree or a plant that resembles one
3Middle EnglishplumtreA plum tree or a similar tree
4Old Englishplumtreowplum tree
5Old Englishtrēowtree, wood, timber, beam, log, stake, stick,...
6Proto-West Germanictreutree; wood
7Proto-Germanictrewątree
8EnglishdoruAlternative form of dory
9Ancient Greekδόρυwood, tree, stem; spear shaft, spear, lance,...
10Proto-Hellenicdórutree
11Proto-Indo-Europeandórutree
12Proto-Indo-Europeandrew-hard, firm, strong, solid; hard, fast; tree
Every word from Proto-Indo-European drew-