Where does “peach” come from?
Peach comes from Middle English pechen, from Old French pesche, from Anglo-Norman empecher, from Old French empeechier, from Latin persicum.
peach (English): Any tree of species Prunus persica, native to China and now widely cultivated throughout temperate regions, having pink flowers and edible fruit
Definitions
- Any tree of species Prunus persica, native to China and now widely cultivated throughout temperate regions, having pink flowers and edible fruit
Ancestry of “peach”, step by step
peach traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.
via Middle English pechen
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | pechen | — |
| 2 | Anglo-Norman | anpecher | — |
| 3 | Late Latin | impedico | entangle; I fetter; I entangle |
| 4 | Latin | pedica | shackle, fetter; snare |
| 5 | Latin | pes | a foot, "in its senses as"; a place to tread... |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | pets | foot |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | pṓds | foot |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | póds | foot |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | ped- | to walk, to step; to stumble, to fall |
via French péché
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | péché | sin; past participle of pécher |
| 2 | Middle French | peché | sin |
| 3 | Old French | pechié | sin; past participle of pechier |
| 4 | Latin | peccātum | sin, error, fault |
| 5 | Latin | peccō | to sin, transgress |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | petkāō | to sin |
| 7 | Indo-European | *ped- | — |
via Ancient Greek μῆλον περσικόν
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ancient Greek | μῆλον περσικόν | peach |