Where does “figleaf” come from?
figleaf (English) comes from English fig, from Middle English fige, from Anglo-Norman figue, from Old French figue, from Occitan figa, from Old Occitan figa, from Vulgar Latin fica, from Latin ficus — Ripe fig.
figleaf (English): Alternative spelling of fig leaf
Definitions
- Alternative spelling of fig leaf
Ancestry of “figleaf”, step by step
figleaf traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English fig
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | fig | A fruit-bearing tree or shrub of the genus... |
| 2 | Middle English | fige | A fig tree; A fig; A kind of boil or sore |
| 3 | Anglo-Norman | figue | fig |
| 4 | Old French | figue | fig |
| 5 | Occitan | figa | fig |
| 6 | Old Occitan | figa | fig |
| 7 | Vulgar Latin | fica | fig; fig, fig-tree |
| 8 | Latin | ficus | fig tree; fig; hemorrhoids |
| 9 | Phoenician | ?? | Ripe fig |
via English leaf
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | leaf | The usually green and flat organ that represents... |
| 2 | Old English | Leofa | — |
| 3 | Old English | lēof | lief, dear |
| 4 | West Germanic | *leub | — |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | leubaz | dear, beloved |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | lewbʰ- | to desire, covet, want; to admire, praise; to... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | lēw- | to sound, resound, sing out; to leave |