Where does “leafhopper” come from?
leafhopper (English) comes from English Hopper, from Middle English hoppere, from Old English hoppa, from English -er, from Middle English -er, from Old French -er, from Latin -āre, from Proto-Italic -āō — he, she.
leafhopper (English): Any insect of the family Cicadellidae
Definitions
- Any insect of the family Cicadellidae
Ancestry of “leafhopper”, step by step
leafhopper traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English Hopper
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Hopper | One who or that which hops |
| 2 | Middle English | hoppere | — |
| 3 | Old English | hoppa | one who hops, hopper; hopper |
| 4 | English | -er | A person or thing that does an action indicated... |
| 5 | Middle English | -er | agentive suffix; agent noun suffix |
| 6 | Old French | -er | Alternative form of -ier, verbal suffix;... |
| 7 | Latin | -āre | first conjugation |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | -āō | Forms primarily denominative verbs |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -eh₂yéti | Creates iterative/ frequentative/ intensive... |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | -yéti | Creates intransitive, often deponent,... |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | yé- | — |
| 12 | Chichewa | iye | he, she |
via English leaf
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | leaf | The usually green and flat organ that represents... |
| 2 | Old English | Leofa | — |
| 3 | Old English | lēof | lief, dear |
| 4 | West Germanic | *leub | — |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | leubaz | dear, beloved |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | lewbʰ- | to desire, covet, want; to admire, praise; to... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | lēw- | to sound, resound, sing out; to leave |