Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “flaxen” come from?

Flaxen comes from Middle English flaxen, from Old English fleaxen with the adjectival suffix -en, ultimately from Proto-Germanic flahsą and Proto-Indo-European pleḱ- meaning to plait or twist fibers.

flaxen (English): Made of or resembling flax fibers; A pale yellow...

Definitions

  1. Made of or resembling flax fibers; A pale yellow...

Ancestry of “flaxen”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishflaxen—
2Old Englishfleaxenflaxen; of flax
3Old English-enmæġþ + API → mæġden; cocc + API → cycen, cicen;...
4Old Norse-innUsed to create adjectives from nouns, meaning...
5Proto-Norse-īna-—
6Proto-Germanic-īnaz-en
7Proto-Indo-European-iHnosCreates adjectives of materials
8Proto-Indo-European-no-adjectival suffix

Words derived from “flaxen”

  • flaxenish
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -no- →