Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “greenhouse” come from?

Greenhouse combines English green and house, which derives from Middle English hus from Proto-Germanic hūsą, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European roots meaning to cover or enclose.

greenhouse (English): A building used to grow plants, particularly one...

Definitions

  1. A building used to grow plants, particularly one...

Ancestry of “greenhouse”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishGreenOf, or pertaining, to a Green Party or green...
2Middle Englishgrenegreen
3Old Englishgrēnegreen
4Proto-West Germanicgrōnīgreen
5Proto-Germanicgrōnizgreen
6Proto-Indo-Europeanǵʰreh₁-to become green, grow; to grow; to green, to grow

Words derived from “greenhouse”

  • greenhouselike
  • nongreenhouse
  • greenhouse
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ǵʰreh₁- →