Where does “ice floe” come from?

ice floe (English) comes from English ice, from Middle English is, from Old English īs, from Proto-West Germanic īs, from Proto-Germanic īsą, from Proto-Indo-European h₁eyH- — ice, frost.

ice floe (English): Any type of sea ice not attached to land, drift ice

Definitions

  1. Any type of sea ice not attached to land, drift ice

Ancestry of “ice floe”, step by step

ice floe traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English ice

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishiceWater in frozen form; Any frozen volatile...
2Middle Englishisice; That which is short-lived like ice; icy...
3Old Englishīsice
4Proto-West Germanicīsice
5Proto-Germanicīsąice
6Proto-Indo-Europeanh₁eyH-ice, frost

via English floe

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishfloeA low, flat mass of floating ice
2Old Norseflōimarsh, swamp
3Proto-Germanicflōduzriver; flood
4Proto-Indo-Europeanplōw-to flow, swim; to pour, wash
5Proto-Indo-Europeanplew-to fly, flow, run
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₁eyH- →Every word from Proto-Germanic īsą →Every word from Proto-West Germanic īs →