Where does “rhubarby” come from?
rhubarby (English) comes from English rhubarb, from Middle English rubarbe, from Anglo-Norman reubarbe, from Latin reubarbarum, from Koine Greek ῥῆον βαρβαρικόν, from Ancient Greek ῥῆον, from Middle Persian rēwand, from Middle Persian lypʾs.
rhubarby (English): Resembling or characteristic of rhubarb
Definitions
- Resembling or characteristic of rhubarb
Ancestry of “rhubarby”, step by step
rhubarby traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English rhubarb
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | rhubarb | Any plant of the genus "Rheum", especially Rheum... |
| 2 | Middle English | rubarbe | A kind of plant belonging to the genus "Rheum";... |
| 3 | Anglo-Norman | reubarbe | — |
| 4 | Latin | reubarbarum | rhubarb |
| 5 | Koine Greek | ῥῆον βαρβαρικόν | — |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | ῥῆον | rhubarb |
| 7 | Middle Persian | rēwand | — |
| 8 | Middle Persian | lypʾs | rhubarb |
| 9 | Proto-Iranian | (h)rabā́š | rhubarb; fennel |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-Iranian | (s)rabʰā́ćš | — |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-Iranian | -ā́ćš | animal and plant suffix |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | -eḱés | — |
via English Y
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Y | A figure or mark in the shape of the letter Y; A... |
| 2 | English | yuri | A narrative or visual work featuring a romance or... |
| 3 | Japanese | 百合 | lily |
| 4 | Japanese | 連用形 | an inflectional category: the continuative or... |
| 5 | Japanese | 見る | to see, to watch, to observe, to look at... |
| 6 | Japanese | 夢 | a dream; a vision; leaving reality to the state... |
| 7 | Old Japanese | 夢 | a dream |
| 8 | Japanese | 目 | an order in biology: smaller than a class, bigger... |
| 9 | Middle Chinese | 目 | — |