Where does “sparrowgrass” come from?
sparrowgrass (English) comes from English grass, from Middle English gras, from Old English græs, from Proto-West Germanic gras, from Proto-Germanic grasą, from Proto-Indo-European ǵʰreh₁- — to become green, grow; to grow; to green, to grow.
sparrowgrass (English): Asparagus
Ancestry of “sparrowgrass”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | grass | Any plant of the family Poaceae, characterized by... |
| 2 | Middle English | gras | A grass; Any plant; especially a herbaceous one;... |
| 3 | Old English | græs | grass |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | gras | grass |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | grasą | grass |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵʰreh₁- | to become green, grow; to grow; to green, to grow |