Where does “fleaweed” come from?

fleaweed (English) comes from English flea, from Middle English fle, from Old English flēa, from Proto-West Germanic flauh, from Proto-Germanic flauhaz, from Proto-Indo-European plówkos, from Proto-Indo-European plúsis — flea.

fleaweed (English): A plant, the lady's bedstraw (Galium verum)

Definitions

  1. A plant, the lady's bedstraw (Galium verum)

Ancestry of “fleaweed”, step by step

fleaweed traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English flea

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishfleaA small, wingless, parasitic insect of the order...
2Middle Englishfleflea
3Old Englishflēa—
4Proto-West Germanicflauhflea
5Proto-Germanicflauhazflea
6Proto-Indo-Europeanplówkos—
7Proto-Indo-Europeanplúsisflea

via English weed

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishweedAny plant regarded as unwanted at the place...
2Middle Englishweed—
3Old Englishwēodweed
4Proto-West Germanic*weudweed (unwanted plant)
Every word from Proto-Indo-European plúsis →
fleaweed — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer