Where does “tetraphyllous” come from?
tetraphyllous (English) comes from English phyllous, from English ous, from English ou, from Afrikaans ou, from Dutch oud, from Middle Dutch out, from Old Dutch ald, from Proto-West Germanic ald — to grow, nourish.
tetraphyllous (English): Having four leaves
Definitions
- Having four leaves
Ancestry of “tetraphyllous”, step by step
tetraphyllous traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English phyllous
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | phyllous | homologous with a leaf |
| 2 | English | ous | plural of ou |
| 3 | English | ou | A probably extinct species of Hawaiian... |
| 4 | Afrikaans | ou | An old fellow, guy, bloke; attributive form of... |
| 5 | Dutch | oud | old |
| 6 | Middle Dutch | out | old |
| 7 | Old Dutch | ald | — |
| 8 | Proto-West Germanic | ald | old |
| 9 | Proto-Germanic | aldaz | old, grown up |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂eltós | — |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂él- | to grow, nourish |
via English tetra
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | tetra | Any of numerous species of small South American... |
| 2 | Translingual | Tetragonopterus | — |
| 3 | Ancient Greek | πτερόν | feather; wing; Any winged creature |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | péth₂r̥ | wing; feather |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | peth₂- | to spread out; to fly |