Where does “seedling” come from?

Seedling derives from English seed, from Old English sīde, from Old English sēon meaning "to see," tracing back through Proto-Indo-European sētis-, sekʷ-, and sed-.

seedling (English): A young plant grown from seed; Any young plant,...

Definitions

  1. A young plant grown from seed; Any young plant,...

Ancestry of “seedling”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishseedA fertilized and ripened ovule, containing an...
2EnglishSee—
3Middle Englishseento see
4Old Englishsēonto be; to filter; to see, look, behold, perceive,...
5Proto-West Germanicsehwanto see
6Proto-Germanicsehwanąto see
7Proto-Indo-Europeansekʷ-to follow; to see; to say
Every word from Proto-Indo-European sekʷ- →