Where does “flaxseed” come from?
Flaxseed comes from English flax and seed, where flax derives from Proto-Germanic flahsą related to Proto-Indo-European pleḱ- and pel-, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European sed- meaning to sit or settle.
flaxseed (English): The seed of the flax plant; a source of linseed...
Definitions
- The seed of the flax plant; a source of linseed...
Ancestry of “flaxseed”, step by step
flaxseed 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 flax
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | flax | A plant of the genus "Linum", especially "Linum... |
| 2 | Middle English | flax | flax (Linum usitatissimum) or its fibres |
| 3 | Old English | fleax | linen, flax |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | flahs | flax |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | flahsą | flax |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | pleḱ- | to fold, plait, weave |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | pel- | to cover, to wrap; skin, hide, cloth; to fold |