Where does “microflora” come from?
Microflora derives from English micro- combined with flora, which comes from Latin Flora, the goddess of flowers, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European bʰleh₃- meaning to bloom or flourish.
microflora (English): Microscopic plant life, especially the bacterial...
Definitions
- Microscopic plant life, especially the bacterial...
Ancestry of “microflora”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Flora | the goddess of flowers, nature and spring; she is also the wife of Favonius and the mother of Karpos. She is the Roman counterpart of Chloris |
| 2 | Latin | Flōra | Flora, the goddess of flowers |
| 3 | Proto-Italic | *Flōzā | an Italic flower goddess, Flora |
| 4 | Proto-Italic | flōs | flower, blossom |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰleh₃-s | flower, blossom |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰleh₃- | bloom, flower |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰel- | to sound; to speak, roar, bark; shiny, white; to... |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰōl- | — |