Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “spurge” come from?

spurge (English) comes from Old French espurge, from Old French espurgier, from Latin expurgo, from Latin pūrgō, from Latin -igo, from Proto-Italic agō, from Proto-Indo-European h₂éǵeti, from Proto-Indo-European h₂eǵ- — to drive.

spurge (English): Any plant of the genus "Euphorbia", a diverse...

Definitions

  1. Any plant of the genus "Euphorbia", a diverse...

Ancestry of “spurge”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchespurgewitness; spurge; sponge
2Old Frenchespurgier—
3LatinexpurgoI purge, cleanse, purify; expurgate; I exculpate,...
4Latinpūrgō—
5Latin-igoEnlargement of -ō; Suffixed to nouns and to...
6Proto-Italicagōdrive; push, impel; do, act
7Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂éǵetito be driving
8Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂eǵ-to drive

Words derived from “spurge”

  • spurgewort
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂eǵ- →