Where does “leafy” come from?
Leafy derives from Middle English -y, Middle French -ie, Latin -ia, Latin -ivus, Latin -ia, and Proto-Indo-European -kos, a suffix forming adjectives from nouns.
leafy (English): covered with leaves; containing much foliage; in...
Definitions
- covered with leaves; containing much foliage; in...
Ancestry of “leafy”, step by step
| 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 |