Where does “thistle” come from?

Thistle comes from Old English þistel, from Proto-Germanic þistilaz, from Proto-Indo-European (s)teyg-.

thistle (English): Any of several perennial composite plants,...

Definitions

  1. Any of several perennial composite plants,...

Ancestry of “thistle”, step by step

thistle traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Middle English þistel

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishþistelAlternative form of thistel
2Old Englishþistelthistle
3Proto-West Germanic*þistilthistle
4Proto-Germanicþistilazthistle
5Proto-Indo-European(s)teyg-to be sharp; to sting

via German distel

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germandistelthistle
2Middle High Germandistelthistle
3Old High Germandistilthistle

Words derived from “thistle”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)teyg- →Every word from Proto-Germanic þistilaz →Every word from Proto-West Germanic *þistil →