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

Definitions

  1. Asparagus

Ancestry of “sparrowgrass”, step by step

sparrowgrass traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English grass

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishgrassAny plant of the family Poaceae, characterized by...
2Middle EnglishgrasA grass; Any plant; especially a herbaceous one;...
3Old Englishgræsgrass
4Proto-West Germanicgrasgrass
5Proto-Germanicgrasągrass
6Proto-Indo-Europeanǵʰreh₁-to become green, grow; to grow; to green, to grow

via English sparrow

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishsparrowThe house sparrow, "Passer domesticus"; a small...
2Middle EnglishSparow
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ǵʰreh₁-Every word from Proto-Germanic grasąEvery word from Proto-West Germanic gras