Where does “heathgrass” come from?
heathgrass (English) comes from English grass, from Middle English gras, from Old English græs, from Proto-West Germanic gras, from Proto-Germanic grasą, from Proto-Indo-European ǵʰreh₁- — to become green, grow; to grow; to green, to grow.
heathgrass (English): Any of various grasses of the genus Danthonia
Definitions
- Any of various grasses of the genus Danthonia
Ancestry of “heathgrass”, step by step
heathgrass traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English grass
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | grass | Any plant of the family Poaceae, characterized by... |
| 2 | Middle English | gras | A grass; Any plant; especially a herbaceous one;... |
| 3 | Old English | græs | grass |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | gras | grass |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | grasą | grass |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵʰreh₁- | to become green, grow; to grow; to green, to grow |
via English Heath
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Heath | A number of places in the United Kingdom |
| 2 | Middle English | heth | Alternative form of heeth |
| 3 | Old English | hǣþ | heath, untilled land, waste; heather; heath;... |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | haiþi | uncultivated land, wasteland |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | haiþī | heath, wasteland |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱayt- | forest, wasteland, pasture |