Where does “smut fungus” come from?

smut fungus (English) comes from English fungus, from Latin fungus, from Latin sfungus.

smut fungus (English): Any phytopathogenic fungus of the order Ustilaginales, which often cause darker colorations in their host plants

Definitions

  1. Any phytopathogenic fungus of the order Ustilaginales, which often cause darker colorations in their host plants

Ancestry of “smut fungus”, step by step

smut fungus traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English fungus

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishfungusAny member of the kingdom Fungi; a eukaryotic...
2Latinfungusa mushroom; a fungus; a fungal growth or...
3Latinsfungus—

via English smut

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishsmutSoot; A flake of ash or soot; Sexually vulgar...
2Middle Englishsmuttento defile, debase
Every word from Latin sfungus →Every word from Latin fungus →Every word from English fungus →