Where does “floodplain” come from?
Floodplain derives from English flood and plain, where plain comes from Old French plain, Latin planum meaning flat, and ultimately Proto-Indo-European pleh₁-.
floodplain (English): An alluvial plain that may or may not experience...
Definitions
- An alluvial plain that may or may not experience...
Ancestry of “floodplain”, step by step
floodplain traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English plain
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | plain | Flat, level; Simple; Obvious |
| 2 | Middle English | pleyn | clear; unambiguous |
| 3 | Anglo-Norman | pleyn | Alternative form of plein |
| 4 | Old French | playn | — |
| 5 | Old French | plain | full; plain; flat |
| 6 | Latin | plēnus | full; filled; complete |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | plēnos | full |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | pl̥h₁nós | full |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | pleh₁- | to fill |
via English flood
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | flood | A overflow of water from a lake or other body of... |
| 2 | Middle English | flod | A waterbody or water in general; A flood; a... |
| 3 | Old English | flōd | river, flood |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | flōdu | river; flood |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | flōduz | river; flood |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | plōw- | to flow, swim; to pour, wash |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | plew- | to fly, flow, run |