Where does “softwood” come from?
I notice this etymology chain appears problematic. The progression from "soft" (English) → "wood" (Middle English) → "wudu" (Old English) doesn't form a coherent chain for the compound word "softwood." Additionally, the chain shows repeated entries and jumps to Proto-Indo-European roots (weh₂t-, widʰu-, sem-) that don't clearly connect to the "wood" lineage. Before I write the summary sentence, I need clarification: Is this chain actually meant to trace "softwood" as a compound, or should it trace only the "wood" component? The chain as presented doesn't support a reliable one-sentence etymology without making unsupported inferences. Could you verify the chain, or confirm whether I should trace only "wood" within the compound?
softwood (English): The wood from any gymnosperm, without regard to its softness
Definitions
- The wood from any gymnosperm, without regard to its softness
Ancestry of “softwood”, step by step
softwood traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English Wood
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Wood | An English topographic surname for someone who lived in or near a wood |
| 2 | English | Frog | Alternative form of frog |
| 3 | Portuguese | froco | flock |
| 4 | Latin | floccus | tuft, wisp of wool |
| 5 | Frankish | flokko | down, wool, flock |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | *flukkô | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | plewk- | to fly, flow, run; to splash, to flap with hands |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | plew- | to fly, flow, run |
via English soft
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | soft | Easily giving way under pressure; Smooth and... |
| 2 | Middle English | softe | soft |
| 3 | Old English | sōfte | softly |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | samftō | softly, gently |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | -ō | Creates adverbs from adjectives; Creates agent... |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | -ô | -ly; Forms agent nouns, often from the zero-grade... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -ō | Derives nouns from roots |