Where does “snakeweed” come from?

snakeweed (English) comes from English snake, from Middle English snake, from Old English snaca, from Proto-Germanic snakô, from Proto-Germanic snakaną, from Proto-Indo-European sneg- — to crawl, creeping thing.

snakeweed (English): Any of various unrelated plants reputed to cure...

Definitions

  1. Any of various unrelated plants reputed to cure...

Ancestry of “snakeweed”, step by step

snakeweed traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English snake

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishsnakeA legless reptile of the sub-order Serpentes with...
2Middle Englishsnakesnake; serpent
3Old Englishsnacasnake
4Proto-Germanicsnakôsnake
5Proto-Germanicsnakanąto crawl
6Proto-Indo-Europeansneg-to crawl, creeping thing

via English weed

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishweedAny plant regarded as unwanted at the place...
2Middle Englishweed—
3Old Englishwēodweed
4Proto-West Germanic*weudweed (unwanted plant)
Every word from Proto-Indo-European sneg- →