Where does “speargrass” come from?
speargrass (English) comes from English Spear, from Middle English spere, from Old French sphere, from Latin sphēra, from Ancient Greek σφαῖρα, from Ancient Greek -ειδής, from Ancient Greek -ής, from Proto-Indo-European -ēs — Creates action nouns or result nouns from verbs;...
speargrass (English): Any of several, unrelated grasses in some way...
Definitions
- Any of several, unrelated grasses in some way...
Ancestry of “speargrass”, step by step
speargrass traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English Spear
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Spear | A long stick with a sharp tip used as a weapon for throwing or thrusting, or anything used to make a thrusting motion |
| 2 | Middle English | spere | A spear or lance; The Lance of Longinus; A barb... |
| 3 | Old French | sphere | sphere shape |
| 4 | Latin | sphēra | — |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | σφαῖρα | ball, globe, sphere |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | -ειδής | like, connected to, from the nature of, full of;... |
| 7 | Ancient Greek | -ής | adjective suffix |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -ēs | Primarily forms adjectival bahuvrīhi compounds |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -ess | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | -os | Creates action nouns or result nouns from verbs;... |
via English grass
| 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 |