Where does “tasselweed” come from?

tasselweed (English) comes from English tassel, from Middle English tassel, from Old French tassel, from Late Latin taxellus, from Latin taxillus, from Latin -illus, from Latin -lus, from Proto-Italic -elos — Forms agent nouns from verbal roots.

tasselweed (English): Ruppia spp., a grass-like aquatic herb

Definitions

  1. Ruppia spp., a grass-like aquatic herb

Ancestry of “tasselweed”, step by step

tasselweed traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English tassel

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishtasselA ball-shaped bunch of plaited or otherwise...
2Middle Englishtassel
3Old Frenchtasseltassel (adornment for a garment)
4Late Latintaxellus
5Latintaxillussmall cube
6Latin-illusUsed to form adjectives from nouns
7Latin-lusAlternative form of -ulus; diminutive suffix
8Proto-Italic-elosForms desubstantival and deadjectival diminutive nouns
9Proto-Indo-European-e-lós
10Proto-Indo-European-lósForms agent nouns from verbal roots

via English weed

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishweedAny plant regarded as unwanted at the place...
2Middle Englishweed
3Old Englishwēodweed
4Proto-West Germanic*weudweed (unwanted plant)
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -lós