Where does “pilotweed” come from?

pilotweed (English) comes from English weed, from Middle English weed, from Old English wēod, from Proto-West Germanic *weud — weed (unwanted plant).

pilotweed (English): Silphium laciniatum, a flowering plant in the...

Definitions

  1. Silphium laciniatum, a flowering plant in the...

Ancestry of “pilotweed”, step by step

pilotweed traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English weed

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishweedAny plant regarded as unwanted at the place...
2Middle Englishweed—
3Old Englishwēodweed
4Proto-West Germanic*weudweed (unwanted plant)

via English pilot

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishpilotA person who steers a ship, a helmsman; A person...
2Middle Frenchpilotstake
3Italianpilotofirst-person singular present indicative of...
4Latinpillottus—
Every word from Proto-West Germanic *weud →