Where does “hailweed” come from?
hailweed (English) comes from English weed, from Middle English weed, from Old English wēod, from Proto-West Germanic *weud — weed (unwanted plant).
hailweed (English): The plant dodder
Ancestry of “hailweed”, step by step
hailweed traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English weed
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | weed | Any plant regarded as unwanted at the place... |
| 2 | Middle English | weed | — |
| 3 | Old English | wēod | weed |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | *weud | weed (unwanted plant) |
via English hail
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | hail | Balls or pieces of ice falling as precipitation,... |
| 2 | Middle English | haylen | to hail; Alternative form of heilen; Alternative... |
| 3 | Old English | hagolian | — |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | haglōną | to hail |