Where does “silkweed” come from?

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

silkweed (English): Any plant of the genus "Asclepias" whose seed...

Definitions

  1. Any plant of the genus "Asclepias" whose seed...

Ancestry of “silkweed”, step by step

silkweed 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 silk

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishsilkA fine fiber excreted by the silkworm or other...
2Middle Englishsilk—
3Old Englishsioloc—
Every word from Proto-West Germanic *weud →