Where does “flea” come from?

Flea comes from Middle English fle, from Old English flēa, from Proto-Germanic flauhaz, from Proto-Indo-European plówkos, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European plúsis.

flea (English): A small, wingless, parasitic insect of the order...

Definitions

  1. A small, wingless, parasitic insect of the order...

Ancestry of “flea”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishfleflea
2Old Englishflēa—
3Proto-West Germanicflauhflea
4Proto-Germanicflauhazflea
5Proto-Indo-Europeanplówkos—
6Proto-Indo-Europeanplúsisflea

Words derived from “flea”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European plúsis →Every word from Proto-Indo-European plówkos →Every word from Proto-Germanic flauhaz →