Where does “spikegrass” come from?
spikegrass (English) comes from English Spike, from Middle Dutch spīker, from Old Dutch spīkāri, from Proto-West Germanic spīkārī, from Latin spicarium, from Latin -ārium, from Latin -um, from Proto-Italic *-om.
spikegrass (English): Either of two tall perennial American grasses (Uniola paniculata and Uniola latifolia) with broad leaves and large flattened spikelets
Definitions
- Either of two tall perennial American grasses (Uniola paniculata and Uniola latifolia) with broad leaves and large flattened spikelets
Ancestry of “spikegrass”, step by step
spikegrass traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English Spike
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Spike | A sort of very large nail |
| 2 | Middle Dutch | spīker | — |
| 3 | Old Dutch | spīkāri | — |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | spīkārī | granary |
| 5 | Latin | spicarium | granary |
| 6 | Latin | -ārium | used primarily to form nouns of purpose from other nouns, such as places where things are kept or objects used for a particular end |
| 7 | Latin | -um | nominative neuter singular of -us; accusative... |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | *-om | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | *-oHom | — |
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 |